MUT repeats call for independent teaching council

The Malta Union of Teachers is calling on the political party elected for the next legislature to set up a teaching council which would be an independent statutory body.

The union said it had been harping on the need for such a council for years, and though successive governments had agreed with it, the council had never been set up.

The union said whoever was elected this weekend should enact all the necessary amendments to the Education Act without any further delay.

Union president John Bencini said the council should be an independent statutory body where teachers can achieve a large degree of professional autonomy and self-regulation to enhance the profession.

Mr Bencini was yesterday speaking at the Teachers' Institute, in Valletta, where he presented the union's memorandum to the political parties, highlighting various views on the education sector.

In its memorandum the union insisted on the need that all teachers, irrespective of their high qualifications, should be pedagogically trained.

It praised the introduction of compulsory staff development meetings, but said this should be developed to include kindergarten assistants and facilitators.

While reaffirming that it was in favour of decentralisation in schools, the union felt this should not undermine the role of the school head.

"We are very preoccupied that there isn't the full complement of heads due to the delay in the call for applications and interviews, among others. The school suffers without someone at the helm," Mr Bencini said.

The union was also calling on the government to amend the unappealing working conditions currently being offered to education officers, since these were keeping people from applying.

"Education officers are among the most important people needed to implement the curriculum, but at the moment we have just 37 in place when there should be 80," he said.

While reaffirming its commitment to the National Minimum Curriculum, the union said new alternative ways of assessment, differentiated teaching and profiling should only be introduced after careful planning and consultation.

On the issue of early education, the union said the state should be careful not to pluck children away from their home environment prematurely or for long hours, since the roots of education came from home.

Meanwhile, the union welcomed the introduction of computers in primary schools which had revolutionised the teaching system for both students and teachers.

On the introduction of activity teachers, the union felt this was a failed experiment because just 13 qualified teachers had come forward when funds had been allocated for 200 posts.

"We feel that the reason is that teachers who apply will be restricted to that post without the chance of moving on to another teaching position. Apart from that, the conditions are not very attractive either," Mr Bencini said.

The union also declared itself in favour of inclusive education; schools should not go to the other extreme by integrating everyone in mainstream when the child may need more special attention.

The union felt there were cases when a child could not benefit from full inclusion and it could be detrimental to their educational or social needs.

It called for regular assessment and appropriate action to reflect on the progress or regression of the child.

On the other hand, the union expressed its concern on the total exclusion of some students from general education.

"Students attending ex-Opportunity Centres should be integrated in normal mainstream schooling and placed in special classes for particular subjects," Mr Bencini said.

On information technology and media education, the union stressed the importance of continuous training of all teaching staff to keep abreast of developments.

It applauded the setting-up of the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools and expressed its satisfaction at the outcome of projects completed to date.

The union also spoke of the need for each school to have a safety programme and security.

On the EU, the union reiterated that its council had got a mandate from its delegates to support all measures to promote membership.

"The result of the March 8 referendum was a clear and unequivocal expression of the will of the people in favour of Malta joining the EU. The MUT now expects that all politicians respect this result," the union said.

The union strongly believed Malta should not lose out on this great opportunity and called on whoever was elected to govern the country to seal Malta's fate by signing the Accession Treaty in Greece on Wednesday.