MUT, PM see no need for reception class

The Malta Union of Teachers believes there is no need for a reception class between kindergarten and primary school as proposed by the Labour Party.

Speaking during a meeting with the Prime Minister and Nationalist Party officials, MUT President John Bencini said the majority of children were ready for primary school after kindergarten and there was no need to add another year.

Dr Gonzi agreed saying he believed the reception class was an "old concept" and was the worst suggestion he had ever heard in the education field.

Dr Gonzi met members of the MUT together with Education Minister Louis Galea and new PN candidates Alexei Dingli and Janice Chetcuti.

The meeting, Dr Gonzi said, was set before the PN drafted the electoral manifesto in order to listen to what the union had to say.

Mr Bencini noted that throughout the years there had been great progress in the field of education. However, he would focus on what more needed to be done.

Before each election, he said, the MUT drew up a memorandum and handed it to the political parties.

This contained points that were based on feedback from people who worked in schools, and the MUT's proposals for improvement and changes in the education field. Most of these suggestions, however, had been ignored.

The MUT believed that, as noted by the EU, social dialogue between the government and the union was essential and the union ought to be involved in taking decisions in the education field.

Teachers were feeling that their voice was not being heard. A classic example was the way clauses in the recent education reform were being interpreted differently by different people while the MUT was ignored on the subject. The revision of the National Curriculum ought to be left in the hands of the educational community and not turned into a political matter, he added.

Although he acknowledged that throughout the years, there had been great progress, there were still areas to be tackled. For example there was still a large number of children who were not benefitting from the educational process. The time had come to analyse what was happening with the large sums of money invested by the government in the sector.

There was a need, said Mr Bencini, to set up an independent structure to investigate matters such as harassment of teachers at work and offer them support.

The union was also concerned about the lack of teachers graduating and called on authorities to explore incentive possibilities, a concern shared by Dr Gonzi.