Teachers accuse Education Ministry of lack of consultation

The teachers' union accused the Education Ministry of failing to consult it on the introduction of vocational subjects in some secondary schools in the new scholastic year.

The president of the Malta Union of Teachers, John Bencini said the union had long been asking the authorities to introduce vocational subjects that included non-academic topics like mechanics, woodwork and hospitality. However, it expected to be consulted before any decisions were taken since introducing subjects had a direct impact on those who had to teach such subjects.

"What will these vocational subjects be? Who will teach them? Will they replace other subjects? The MUT represents the majority of teachers and we have no idea. This is very worrying," he said.

Mr Bencini said the union only found out about the ministry's intention on June 30 when Minister Dolores Cristina made the announcement during a ceremony where she handed out warrants to new teachers. This meant that during a meeting held on May 13 the union had been misled when it was told no decisions would be taken without consulting it, he added.

The meeting, held at the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education, was attended by representatives from Church and private schools along with Eddie O'Connor, representative of Edexcel, a UK agency which offers vocational courses and exams.

The MUT said it would not allow the working conditions of its members to be compromised with the introduction of vocational subjects.

The ministry said that, after evaluating the situation with major stakeholders, discussions started with Edexcel to introduce BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) qualifications in secondary schools. Earlier this year, a draft plan on piloting four vocational subjects in a number of schools was drawn up. To this end, on May 13 the ministry called a meeting with MUT officials to exchange detailed information on this pilot project.

"At this meeting, the MUT was given reassuring information about the plan... At this point the schools to carry the pilot project had not been chosen... MUT was also informed that during the pilot study there will be ongoing discussions with the union and with all other stakeholders," the ministry said.

"Final decisions on the choice of schools were taken last Friday following consultations with the state and non-state education authorities," the ministry added.

The pilot project is planned to take place over the two scholastic years starting 2011and 2012 and will cover four vocational subjects: engineering, hospitality, IT practitioner and health and social care.

Teachers will be recruited at school level from related subjects and will undergo two weeks of specialised training.

The registration fee for each subject, for the three-year certification course, amounts to about €133. Social cases will be exempted from the fee.