MUT: Proposal on teachers having to prove they are not sex offenders is 'humiliating'

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) has described as 'humiliating' a proposal that would require applicants for teaching positions to present certification to prove they are not registered sex offenders. The proposal is included in a White Paper entitled 'Effective recruitment and selection procedures for people working with minors'. See http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150709/local/prospective-teachers-may-have-to-prove-they-are-not-sex-offenders.575925 The MUT said that while it agreed with rigorous recruitment procedures, it disagreed with additional red tape. Furthermore, screening should be made of all professionals in contact with children, and not just teachers. It said it was totally against treating professional educators as suspicious in the first instance and on having to prove themselves clean. "Such an attitude is totally unheard of in all professions and the Union expects the Government to respect the professional status of all educators in a concrete manner rather than invent humiliating processes." It said that legislation connected to the offenders register should be clarified and simplified so that the courts could inform employers concerned...