Exchange on 'non-existent' fees for vocational subjects

While the Malta Union of Teachers called on the government to withdraw the fee for vocational subjects it plans to introduce in secondary schools the Education Ministry said this was an "unfounded allegation" and denied there would be any payment.

The ministry had already rebutted a statement in that sense by the opposition spokesman for education earlier in the day but it was later repeated by the MUT, which said it was the first time in the country's educational history that money would be expected from students to study and insisted it was a "mistake".

MUT president John Bencini highlighted the fact that students would have to pay €133 immediately on registering for a vocational subject at a press conference on Wednesday.

The union, which has been appealing for non-academic topics for years, was now "shocked" and "seriously worried" about their introduction, saying the contract with the Business and Technology Education Council, the UK agency that issues such certificates, had been signed behind its back and it wanted answers.

But the ministry reiterated that studying such subjects would be voluntary and free for students. As was the case with other subjects, when they sat for exams to acquire certification from foreign educational institutions a fee would have to be paid. Moreover, students considered to be social cases would be exempt as was already the case with other exams, the ministry said.

The MUT highlighted the issue of parents who could afford to pay but did not want to.

The ministry recently announced it would be introducing a pilot project over the 2011 and 2012 scholastic years, covering four subjects - engineering, hospitality, IT practitioner, health and social care - in certain schools.

The MUT has come down on it like a ton of bricks, despite the fact that it has been calling for the introduction of these subjects, due to a lack of consultation and what it terms as a fait accompli.

Mr Bencini acknowledged it was the government's prerogative to decide on the schools in which the pilot project would be introduced but he wanted to at least be informed so as "not to look like idiots".

On the subject of the failed sectoral agreement, Mr Bencini said doors were still open on the part of both the MUT and the authorities to save it.

An agreement on the revised collective agreement was reached after months of intense negotiations but failed at the last minute due to "absolutely unacceptable" financial implications, he said.

While thanking Education Minister Dolores Cristina for doing her utmost to reach an agreement, Mr Bencini augured that months of talks to conclude a document everyone had accepted would not disappear into thin air.

He said the union was still open to discussions and augured that a solution would be reached by the end of September.

"Our (financial) requests made sense and we were moderate and responsible, taking into consideration the country's financial situation," he pointed out.

MUT general secretary Franklin Barbara described the 2009-2010 scholastic year as "turbulent" and characterised by three months of industrial action. He called for more consultation with the government from the initial stages of discussions and not just information.

In an evaluation of the last scholastic year, Mr Barbara called for less bureaucracy and more efficiency in implementing rights it was agreed members should have been benefitting from.

He appealed for the reconstitution of the Public Service Commission so that issues it dealt with, such as appointments, would no longer be at a standstill and delayed. The government relied on the PSC for everything but it was out of action and situations remained stagnant, he said.

Mr Barbara augured that the summer months would be a period of stocktaking and soul-searching for the authorities in preparation for the next scholastic year.