Once again, I would like to say that Mr Carmel Micallef of Fgura simply has no idea what he is writing about in his letter, Teachers on Buses (TMID, 22 August).

To declare that there is no stress on a teacher joining students on board a school van to and from school, is showing that the writer simply has no idea what takes place on school transport. Nor is he aware of the onus and the responsibility of a teacher’s presence among his/her students.

As a teacher, I have absolutely no wish to somehow be responsible for students journeying to and from school, and again, I reiterate that if parents are concerned – and in my opinion they should be – then it is up to them to employ people to take on such a responsibility.

It is not the first time that there were traffic accidents involving school transport. If a teacher were to be on board, he or she would somehow be held accountable. There is no way that most teachers are ready to take on this role.

Mr Micallef once again does not strengthen his “argument” in favour of the environment by quoting figures and sources. Hence, the “argument” does not stand.

So much so, that “the very first day that school ends” and “the end of September” do not, in fact, coincide with the teachers’ end of scholastic year and the beginning of the next one, respectively. Teachers continue working at school well into mid-July, and usually start having meetings at their schools by the second week of September. Hence, attributing “the transport of school employees to pollution” is simply nonsense.

I conclude by suggesting that Mr Micallef should look elsewhere in his quest to protecting the environment and allow teachers to carry on with their private lives the way that they see fit, as with other working categories.

Franco Farrugia

Guardamangia