The Education Minister is ready to appoint more selection boards to assess children with special needs, when it was the same minister who after the election had decided to have only one board dealing with such issues, PN spokesman for early education George Pullicino said.

In a statement, the PN noted with satisfaction that in Parliament Minister Bartolo had said that more than one board will be appointed to deal with the ever-growing list of applications by parents of children with special needs to have a learning support assistant give a helping hand to their child in class.

But, Mr Pullicino added, the list had grown to more than 800 applications simply because the minister had decided, soon after taking office, of eliminating one of the two boards that deal with these applications.

This has led to situations in which parents have been waiting more than nine months to appear before the board. The parents of a child who last October was diagnosed as needing help by a psychologist will only be seen by the board now, and this meant that the boy has started another scholastic year without the necessary assistance, Mr Pullicino said.