No progress in education dispute

Students may remain unclassified for the next scholastic year, because no progress has been registered between the Malta Union of Teachers and the Education Division over a new collective agreement for government teachers, and over the recruitment of facilitators.

That would mean it would be impossible to categorise students into different classes according to their standard of education, MUT president John Bencini explained.

Mr Bencini said the industrial action would also make it impossible to hand out school prizes.

The MUT on June 12 directed all teaching grades to correct all annual examination scripts but to refrain from entering marks on the scripts. They were further directed not to hand in the results to the school administration or any other official.

Facilitators and kindergarten assistants performing duties with Kinder I and Kinder II and with children with special needs in the mainstream were also directed to work to rule.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Bencini said the union was disappointed to note that it had not been contacted by either the Education Division or the ministry.

"Everyone is very preoccupied with this issue. The students' marks have been withheld by the teachers and parents are worried about what will happen in the next scholastic season," Mr Bencini said.

The bone of contention is two-fold - the first is over the conclusion of negotiations on a collective agreement for the years 2002-2004, particularly the inclusion of a sectoral agreement for teaching grades.

The other issue was over the recruitment of facilitators. The MUT is insisting on the publication of a call for applications for the post of facilitator in Scale 12 progressing to scale 10 and open to candidates who have successfully completed the Faculty of Education Certificate in Education for Learning Support Facilitators.

The Education Ministry had said that the directives issued by the MUT were not justified and would create needless difficulties for children and their parents.

The ministry said that negotiations on the collective agreement were still taking place between the Office of the Prime Minister and all the unions representing those employed in the public service.

The scholastic year comes to an end on Friday.