Number of student exclusions from state schools reaches 780 since 2014

Some schools saw one student excluded for one day while students in other schools had been excluded for an accumulated 137 days

A total of 780 students have been excluded from school because of bad behaviour since 2014
A total of 780 students have been excluded from school because of bad behaviour since 2014

The number of students excluded from school in state schools this scholastic year so far is 277, 15 more than the 2015-2016 scholastic year, according to education minister Evarist Bartolo.

Answering a parliamentary question put to him by Labour MP Etienne Grech, Bartolo said that the number of days for which students were excluded ranged from one day for one student in a single school, to a cumulative total of 137 days divided among different students in the same school.

A total of 194 students had also been excluded from Church and private schools over the same period, with the total number of exclusion days varying from half a school day to 25 days.

The reasons for these exclusions were fighting in school, bullying, the use of disparaging language, foul language, a lack of respect towards the school and the breaking of rules, the disruption of lessons and educational programmes, the “improper use of security equipment”, and aggressive behaviour said the minister.