The "noble profession of teachers" is being eroded with too much scrutiny and mistrust. As a result, the enrolment rate for teaching courses at university has dropped, graduates are seeking jobs elsewhere, and burnt-out teachers are giving up and resigning, MUT president John Bencini said.
For the first time in many years, Malta is facing a serious shortage of teachers, which is similar to what other EU countries are facing, including the UK. Locally, the shortage is affecting all teaching areas, but especially the primary sector. In fact, the Education Ministry has already started employing supply teachers, who are not qualified as teachers or trained in pedagogy.
With regards to secondary school teachers, although the shortage does not seem to affect teachers of core subjects, such as Maltese and English, in some years' time it will also affect teachers of IT, computer studies and the sciences.
Locally, the shortage was already forecasted two years ago, when the number of students following teaching courses dropped considerably. Traditionally, the B.Ed. course was one of the most popular, which was able to supply more teachers than our country needed.
"The situation has reversed," Mr Bencini explained. "In the primary school area alone, only 130 students are following the course, meaning that only around 35 teachers are expected to graduate next year."
Furthermore, the profession is attracting a predominantly female population, with male students making up only about 10 per cent of the students following teaching courses. The trend, labeled the "feminisation of teachers", indicates that while the job attracts women due to the working hours and summer holidays involved, making it easier for them to juggle work and family, men are attracted to different careers which offer more opportunities for progressing, better salaries, and more attractive working conditions.
A parallel problem is that many B.Ed. graduates do not follow the teaching career. In practice this means that only a percentage of the 130 students currently following a teaching course will actually work as primary school teachers, a trend that has been observed for a number of years.
The past months have also registered a higher number of veteran teachers who are giving up on the teaching profession.
"The reasons are various, including lack of trust in teachers and unjust criticism, and increased stress due to the big number of students in classes teachers are responsible for. The 11+ exam has also increased the pressure on teachers. Apart from the syllabus they are expected to cover, teachers often have to face a situation in which no merit is given to them when their students do well, and are labeled as bad teachers when their students do not excel.
"The pressure can be partly alleviated if the reforms on student services are implemented, and if the various calls for applications are issued as agreed upon last July, a case in point being the call for applications for College Prefects of Discipline. Until now, only the college principals have been appointed," Mr Bencini said.
Yet, the stalemate seems to be the increased scrutiny which teachers are being subjected to, according to Mr Bencini, who has to face complaints about school audits, the Performance Manage Programme, increasingly bad behaviour, and reports of college principals who are "jumping the gun", and creating an atmosphere of discontent among all teaching grades.
"More than half of these principals are bringing the reform intro disrepute by exceeding their line of duty of classification and networking among colleges," Mr Bencini said. "I have received reports of principals allegedly interfering with the management of schools, as well as reports of principals entering schools, and even classrooms, without even bothering to inform the head of school.
In one particular case, a principal has reportedly undermined the credibility of a teacher with more than 10 years' experience by stating the latter "should start learning how to teach". I have also received several cases of poaching, that is, of principals offering transfers to teachers from other schools, when such transfers fall under the sole responsibility of the director for human resources. Cases were also reported that a principal is also phoning teachers at their private residence inviting them to teach in their college. This is a blatant breach of the agreement signed last year."
The MUT has forwarded these reports to the Director for Educational Services within the Ministry of Education, but so far, no results were reported.
"No other profession is as scrutinised as the teaching profession. In fact, during school audits, MUT had reports that evaluation was focused too much on easily measurable school achievement, without taking into consideration the complexity of the reality of schools. Teachers are sometimes side-stepped and made only objects of the process. The MUT is not saying that there should be no teachers' evaluation, but that teachers should be given their due merit, support and the freedom to get to know their own classroom without unnecessary interference."
Finally, more and more teachers are exposed to unacceptable pupil behaviour, bullying and violence in relation to their work. At the end of the day, teachers should not feel undervalued by their superiors and society in general.
"A prominent television presenter wrote in a Maltese Sunday newspaper that it was high time for teachers to be assessed and given marks by their students. This kind of language will definitely not help to persuade young students to go into teaching," Mr Bencini said.