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Michaela Muscat
A massive row has erupted over the appointment of the national board regulating psychologists, with the Malta Union of Professional Psychologists accusing new appointee Dr Sandra Scicluna Calleja, of having raised doubts about the ethical behaviour of one of the union members.
The president of the union, Bernard Caruana, has denied he is the person concerned, after losing his job as a lecturer at the University of Malta. Sources close to the MUPP are concerned that the “opposing side is using this as an opportunity to shed false insinuations on Caruana.”
The MUPP said the reason given to their member was that he was simply a casual lecturer so it was within the University’s rights to discontinue his services.
The University of Malta is not obliged to inform casual lectures of the reasons for their dismissal. The union protested in writing to the Rector of the University and Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina on the subject of the alleged unethical behaviour, but ultimately due to this “causal lecturer loophole”, they were not given an answer in writing and could not take this issue to the law courts.
The MUPP is apprehensive with the anomaly of the board appointments. “The law stipulates that the members are to be appointed by the academic staff, and not by the university. So the minister is breaking the law,” Caruana charged.
“We don’t object to the two people nominated by ourselves and the Malta Psychologists Associ-ation, but we have serious doubts about the qualifications of some of the other members and also the method used to appoint the board,” the MUPP said.
In a statement to the press, Cristina strongly denied the MUPP’s claims: “The MUPP replied in a letter dated October 22, 2004, putting forward the name of a representative on their part, but offered no comments on the proposed members, named specifically by the ministry in its communication. It was only at a later instance that MUPP objected, not only to the ministry’s nominees, but also to the representative on the board, chosen by the University of Malta.”
Former MUPP President Paul Bartolo had contacted Cristina and verbally informed her that the union had no faith in the members of the board, only to be told that “now they’re already appointed.”
Olivia Galea Seychell was appointed by the ministry to represent the public interest on the board - “but she is not eligible as she does not practice as a psychologist, but is a resource manager with Appogg,” Caruana said.
“We have a problem with the Chairperson – Mary Anne Aguis - on two counts. First, because she would only be qualified under the Grand Parent clause,” Caruana said about the clause which awards a psychologist’s warrant to persons who may not have qualifications adhering to today’s measures, but who have served a number of years in the field before the qualifications changed.
Caruana also said Agius used “two weights and two measures” when she was sitting on a University board, “and she never disassociated herself from the decisions taken.”
Mary Anne Lauri, president of the MPA said she completely disagreed with the MUPP on the issue. “We believe that the board is being constituted according to the law and that the members of the board are fully qualified,” Lauri said.
“Mary Anne Aguis does not need the grand parenting clause to be eligible for the warrant because along with Alfred Darmanin, she has taught all of us including some of the people who are raising objections on her qualifications. They are the pioneers of the psychology department. Although we believe that they are fully qualified according to the Grand Parent clause, they would still be awarded the warrant.”
The MUPP emphasised that it did not want to harm psychology as a profession or any of the people involved in this quandary. “But we were forced to resort to the media after we realised that the minister had not heeded any of our claims and the deadline was looming. We also refrained from mentioning any of the names because we really did not want to cause these people any damage.”
mmuscat@mediatoday.com.mt
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