The teachers’ union registered an industrial dispute over a circular issued to primary schools in which principals were asked to identify teachers who resisted a new strategy focusing on literacy.

School principals were asked to identify teachers who were reluctant or resisting the strategy and pass on the information “confidentially” to the Education Department so they “would then benefit from support”, the union said.

The circular, sent last Thursday by the Director of Quality and Standards in Education, dealt with the literacy strategy implemented in schools, the Malta Union of Teachers said.

The union queried when had it become practice for principals to identify teachers on the basis of reluctance and report them to the authorities behind their back. It described the circular as an affront to the teaching profession and an insult to the intelligence of all teachers.

The Education Directorate refused the union’s request to withdraw the circular. The union’s council would meet on Monday to discuss the matter and take all the necessary actions to defend the dignity of teachers, it said.