The Labour Party spokesman on education, Evarist Bartolo, stressed the importance of stepping up investment in the training of teachers.

It was also paramount that teachers would have suitable conditions of work, a salary that reflected their commitment, respect towards their professionalism and involvement in all changes to the educational system because the success of change depended mostly on their contribution, he said.

In a message to mark Teachers' Day, yesterday, Mr Bartolo said changes brought about new challenges for teachers.

He said it was also essential that teachers would be free to work peacefully and to be protected from any type of violence.

It was also imperative to provide teachers with the right resources to enable them to carry out their duties efficiently and with the assistance of professional personnel in health, social and psychological matters in order to enable them to address the various needs of their students.