Censored Maltese Teacher-Comedian Meets Education Minister: ‘He Was Completely On My Side’
A teacher-comedian who was censored by her school for publishing a satirical video was in high spirits following a one-on-one meeting this morning with Education Minister Owen Bonnici.
“Owen Bonnici’s office called me up and told me I had a meeting with the minister,” Sandra Gauci told Lovin Malta. “He was completely on my side. He told me that he saw the video, that I did nothing wrong and that the school made a fuss over nothing.”
“He told me he spoke to my school principal and that the admonishment warning I was given is no longer valid.”
Gauci was full of praise for the Minister, describing him as a very down-to-earth and open-minded person and expressing hope that he will be able to shake up the “conservative and backwards mentality” within the Education Department.
Last week, Gauci found herself in hot water with her school, Kulleġġ San Ġorġ Preca, after she published a satirical video which criticised the working conditions of teachers. In particular, she called out the way construction works at schools take place during school hours, the unhygienic conditions at certain schools and the absolute lack of respect shown by some students towards teachers.
After she refused to pull down the video, the school gave her a formal warning of its intention to give her an admonishment, arguing that her video “ridiculed the teaching profession”.
However, Gauci kept the video online and her union, the Union of Professional Educators, urged Bonnici to intervene in what it described as “systematic censorship”.