The Malta Union of Teachers yesterday said it was shocked with the statement issued by the Education Division on the alleged harassment on teachers by the heads of two state secondary and one primary school.

In a statement, the MUT council said it was more worried about the situation now that the division chose to state that the union’s claims are false and unfounded. It said if this is the way a trade union requesting an independent inquiry in treated, then the teachers are right to be worried about this situation.

The MUT said that in its statement, the division ridiculed the allegations of a substantial number of teachers who felt hurt and humiliated by the authorities of their school while they were compiling the Performance Management Programme.

It said it has requested an independent inquiry into reports of harassment in a primary school in the south of the island and two girls’ Junior Lyceums not because the alleged harassment only took place at these schools only but because they were the most serious cases.

The union said that it has been verbally told that the allegations on one of the headmistresses involved will not be investigated because she is due to reach pensionable age.

The union said no statement will stop it from doing its duty and protect teachers from this king of degrading treatment.