“Our summer was ruined. A decision was taken to remove Mallia from his position and nobody considered the repercussions on the staff, parents and most importantly the students of St Albert. It was devastating, to say the least, and had a horrible effect on our children’s mental well-being,” one parent said. 

“Students are feeling sad, worried, angry and not safe. The situation is beyond repair at this point and Rector Fr Aaron Zahra and the board are responsible for this chaos.”

“Nobody informed us how this situation will be repaired and nobody has reached out to us. St Albert was a community we were proud of, it was our second family and now this has all crumbled,” they expressed. 

One parent explained how their child is now dreading going back to school, with the Board’s decision having negatively impacted children’s mental well-being. 

“Our children’s once safe haven – the school – became a place of anxiety and void. Not knowing what is going to happen is the worst feeling ever,” they said. 

Another parent whose child has special needs expressed her worries at the lack of a plan for children that require extra assistance.

“I’m very worried about special needs children. My visually-impaired son is in secondary school and he used to receive all the help from the SLT and teachers during lessons. Special needs children shall suffer because this is the first time that there is no plan for them,” they said. 

“Now, that the Assistant Head resigned, who is going to take care of our year groups? Who is going to consent the educators to help our children with their educational needs? Every child is different and each one deserves the best.” 

Many expressed how their children managed to find a home, and a second family within the school, with parents always feeling secure knowing their children are under Mallia’s watch. 

“Until a few weeks ago, our children were so happy at school. They felt loved and cared for thanks to a motivated Head and Staff who embarked on a truly Christian way of educating. Regretfully, we feel that the current scenario and decisions taken will impinge on the strong values, consistency and sense of belonging that the College was until recently renowned for,” one said. 

“During our very short experience at the college, we have found our second family, our children are not just a number and the staff was always ready to hear our concerns,” another expressed. 

Almost all of them also expressed their concerns about the sheer amount of resignations that have taken place, noting that these people cannot just be replaced. 

“This summer has been a turbulent one for over 400 families – we are all worried for the well-being of our children. As time passed, assistant heads, teachers and administrative staff resigned, and it is now evident that our children will not return to the College to which they are accustomed and which they love.”

“We are deeply saddened that our community, so close-knit has now been fragmented. We have lost members of staff who were priceless and invaluable.”

Former headmaster Mallia was often mentioned, as parents expressed their disbelief at this dismissal, stressing that it was unfair. 

“We are not only saddened by the dismissal of Mallia, but mostly we are saddened and disgusted by the way he was dismissed, the reasons for his dismissal, the lack of communication in these past weeks, and the way the new management is not knowledgeable enough to run the school,” one said. 

“Mallia is irreplaceable and that is why I believe that the school will never be the same again. How can you remove someone just for doing so much good?” another questioned. 

Lovin Malta also recently spoke to a number of educators from the St Albert The Great College, who similarly expressed their worries, with nine staff members already having resigned.

What do you make of these parents’ concerns?