After years of consultation, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the government have signed an important agreement, which aims to reform the entire education system, starting from kindergarten level. However, tensions have arisen in the area of labour relations. In a press conference during the same week of the agreement, MUT expressed its concern that a number of teachers were allegedly being subjected to harassment during their performance appraisals.
Reform at all levels
Following three years of hard work and preparation, on 17 July 2007, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment (Ministeru ta’ l-Edukazzjoni, Zghazagh u Xoghol) signed a historic reform agreement. The agreement is intended to reform the education system from kindergarten level to secondary level. The recently signed agreement states that, as of 2010, kindergarten teachers should have a diploma and, from 2015, they should have a degree and a licence. It is also planned that every kindergarten class will use information technology (IT) as part of its teaching tools.
Content of agreement
The measures stipulated in the agreement should be implemented from January 2008. Among other aspects of the reform, teachers’ allowances, including those of school principals and their assistants, will increase. The changes will be implemented by two directorates – the Directorate for Quality and Standards, focusing on the curriculum, and the Directorate for Education Services, ensuring that there are sufficient resources to provide the necessary education services.
MUT is satisfied with the agreement and feels confident that this reform has not only safeguarded teachers’ rights and working conditions, but has also made significant improvements. The new agreement, containing over 70 measures, services and benefits, aims to abolish the examination-centred assessment system, strengthen education, reorganise schools into colleges, as well as set up school or student councils and community lifelong learning centres. Furthermore, the agreement has improved leave entitlement, created promotional opportunities and resolved many anomalies.
Urgent need for implementation of reform
MUT called on the government to implement the measures outlined in the new reform agreement. MUT President, John Bencini, stated that the government should have the required human resources in place before the start of the coming school year. Mr Bencini insisted on the improvement of student services to tackle students’ misbehaviour. The union suggested that councillors, career advisors, educational psychologists and other professionals should be employed as soon as possible to improve the system.
Tensions remain over unresolved issues
However, the recently signed agreement did not ensure industrial peace between MUT and the government. During the same week of the signing of the reform agreement, MUT alleged that a number of teachers were being mistreated by their principals. More specifically, Mr Bencini reported that, in a number of government schools, teachers were subjected to harassment during their performance management appraisal (PMA) by the school principals or their assistants. The Ministry of Education denied these reports and stated that the teachers’ complaints were due to their poor PMAs.
During a news conference, Mr Bencini described the situation as critical. He further explained that, although the agreement that had been signed was historic, other urgent issues still need to be resolved. These include insufficient human resources, the PMA system, student absenteeism and the harassment of teachers.
Christine Farrugia, Centre for Labour Studies