MUT irked by attempt at 'undermining credibility'

The Malta Union of Teachers will not accept anyone attempting to undermine its credibility, it said in a statement yesterday.

Referring to a news handout by the Ministry of Education at the weekend, the MUT argued that it would steer clear of the details in that handout to avoid "useless polemics that will lead nowhere".

The MUT said it was in favour of reforms that would result in a radical change within the classroom. However, it was against the setting up of authorities and agencies that would mean the spending of thousands of liri when such moneys ought to be spent on the education of students and to support schools and their heads.

The union claimed that meetings with the Education Minister were few and far between and in spite of the fact that the union had asked for additional meetings to thrash out long-standing issues, nothing much had been done on this account.

Referring to the reform that would lead to the setting up of school clusters, the MUT argued that the union had only attended two informal meetings when it was presented with a fait accompli in the form of a document called Establishment of School Groupings leading to the formal creation of school clusters.

The union further claimed that it had first heard of this reform from school heads, which proved that things were being done behind its back.

The MUT stuck to its assertion of last week that 80 per cent of the National Minimum Curriculum had not yet been implemented.

The union argued that it had to go public on these matters because while it had been promised that the document on clusters which it was given on October 13 was to remain confidential, public statements were made about it as well as a letter sent to school heads.