Freedom of Information – Article 17

Public Authority:
ELT Council

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Description of the department/directorate/entity’s structure: About | ELT Council (gov.mt) Board Composition: Chairperson Appointed Member by the Minister for Education Appointed Member by the Minister for Tourism Elected Schools’ Rep. for FELTOM Schools Elected Schools’ Rep. for non-associated independent schools 2x FELTOM Representatives Malta Tourism Authority National Commission for Further and Higher Education Staff Members CEO Senior ELT Council Officer 3x ELT Council Officers

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Description of the department/directorate/entity’s functions and responsibilities.
About | ELT Council (gov.mt)

The mission of the ELT Council for ELT Schools is to foster the ELT Profession and Industry in all its various aspects.

The ELT Council is established:
– To stimulate, promote and safeguard the ELT profession and encourage the proficient use of the English Language on a national basis;
– To upgrade standards in ELT teachers’ qualifications and raise ELT to the level of a regulated profession;
– To maintain and operate quality assurance systems in all aspects of English Language stays that provide for periodic rigorous audits to assure compliance with established quality standards;
– To foster Malta’s reputation as an international learning centre of repute in all aspects of ELT stays;
– To create a framework of ELT qualifications based on learning outcomes and referenced to the Malta Qualifications Framework in line with International and European Qualifications Networks;
– To establish and maintain statutory links between ELT and the tourism industry and between ELT and other public and private institutions to constitute an improved platform for further sustainable growth and to strengthen the all ready existing rapport;
– To ensure professional management, administrative and physical resources for the growing remit of the ELT Council by allocating to it suitably qualified and skilled human resources and commensurate premises that continually upgrade the profile of the Council in line with its increasing importance on the national economic level.

The ELT Council has the following functions and responsibilities:

• Issue licences according to Legal Notice 221 of 2015, to suspend and withdraw licences and set and enforce conditions there
• To monitor compliance by Schools, Home Tuition Providers, Distance Learning Providers, English Language Teachers with Legal Notice 221 of 2015, licence, ELT Permit conditions as applicable, and Council rules as it may determine and publish on the Council’s website from time to time, and to take all such measures it may consider appropriate against any such School, Home Tuition Provider, Distance Learning Provider, English Language Teacher in breach thereof;
• Carry out quality assurance procedures, establish and maintain rules, regulations and mechanisms for quality assurance on all aspects of ELT stays and on Distance Learning and to ensure adherence thereto;
• Develop and maintain curricula, assessments and examinations for the professional training and qualification of persons eligible to become English language teachers and non-academic support staff, and to monitor compliance thereto;
• Develop and maintain a sectoral framework for ELT qualifications referenced to the National Qualifications Framework;
• Establish, develop, maintain and own brands, marks of distinction or trust and signs of quality assurance and to promote and regulate their use;
• Advise the Minister on the state, operation, needs and prospects of ELT in general and to compile and submit by no later than six weeks after each year in office an annual report thereon and on the policies, functions and plans of the Council;
• Prescribe and charge the fees payable to the Council for any service provided by it, or in respect of any matter for which it is considered that a fee should be payable in accordance with Schedule 2 of Legal Notice 221 of 2015;
• Determine and levy fine or penalties in cases of non-compliance;
• Advise on and promote the proficiency of English and the benefits of ELT nation-wide;
• Gather any data necessary for the enhancement of the sector; and
• Perform such other functions as the Minister may from time to time prescribe.

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General description of the categories of documents the department/directorate/entity holds (including exempt documents):

• HR Files
• Schools and Annexes Files
• TEFL Award Approved Courses Files
• SEPTT Files (SEPTT exam applications)
• Monitoring Exercise Files (quality assurance)
• Irregular Operations Files (enforcement)
• Conferences Files (annual conference)
• Continuous Professional Development Files (CPD Sessions)
• TELT Files
• Teacher’s Card File

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Description of all manuals and similar types of documents which contain policies, principles, rules or guidelines in accordance with which decisions or recommendations are made in respect of members of the public (including bodies, corporate and employees of the public authority in their personal capacity): Policy Manual Public Service Management Code

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Statement of the information that needs to be available to members of the public who wish to obtain access to official documents from the public authority. This statement shall include particulars of the officer or officers to whom requests for such access should be sent: The FOI officers of the ELT Council may be contacted by e-mail on info.eltcouncil@gov.mt or by telephone 25981240/1241/1242. FOI Requests may be submitted by e-mail to the email address above, through the FOI Portal via e-ID, or through the online form.

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Details of Internal Complaints Procedure: An applicant whose request for information is refused, or who is otherwise not satisfied with the information provided, its format or the extension of the deadline for the submission of the notification indicating whether a request would be met or not, may submit a complaint to the Public Authority by e-mail to info.eltcouncil@gov.mt, through the FOI portal https://foi.gov.mt/ via the e-ID or through the online form. The complaint should be addressed to the FOI Officer, who shall bring the complaint to the attention of the officer responsible (i.e. the most senior official within the department). The officer responsible shall reply to the applicant within 10 working days from the receipt of the complaint. The applicant shall also be informed that they may appeal the decision or otherwise address a complaint to the Information and Data Protection Commissioner in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (Cap. 496 of the Laws of Malta). The officer responsible shall inform the applicant of the decision taken with respect to his or her complaint, and in the event of confirmation of a decision not to release the pertinent information, shall explain the reasons thereof. Whenever the applicant’s complaint is related to the format of the information provided or to an extension of the deadline for the submission of the notification indicating whether a request would be met or not by the Ministry, and the original decision is upheld, the applicant shall be given an explanation as to why his or her complaint cannot be positively addressed. An applicant may also make use of the Internal Complaints Procedure to report failure to meet deadlines or to send notifications

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Other Information:

Working Hours:
Winter Hours: 08.00 – 16.45hrs Monday – Friday
15th June – 30th September: 08.00 -14.00hrs Monday – Friday

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Payments:
ELT Council IBAN: MT50VALL22013000000040024768061
Sort Code: VALLMTMT

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Public Authority Contact Details:
Telephone: (00356) 2598 1240/1/2/3/4
Email: info.eltcouncil@gov.mt
Address: ELT Council, Bice Mizzi Vassallo Complex, Alamein Road, Pembroke – Malta

Contact | ELT Council (gov.mt)