Circus children not being allowed into State schools

Circus performers have had to jump through the island’s bureaucratic hoops to get their six children accepted into State schools during their two-month stay in Malta. But to date, the children remain without schooling because according to the island’s policy, students need to live on the island for three months before being enrolled. This is the first time authorities had received such a request. “What am I meant to tell my son when he asks me why he is not wanted in Maltese schools,” asked Vasco Romanov, a performer at the Circo Fantasy set up in Naxxar. His eight-year-old son, Entony, born in Italy, said he enjoyed going to school to learn and would have liked to do so in Malta. Entony’s 12-year-old friend, Maykal Valev, also Italian, adds: “I like school. I don’t want to have to repeat a year. We have to study alone and which is more difficult.” The parents are insisting their children are EU citizens – four are Italian and two (twins) Hungarian – and, therefore, should be able to attend a Maltese State school. Having arrived in Malta at the end of October, they made their first request to the education authorities in the beginning of November. Since then, they have been asked...