The teachers’ union yesterday complained that neither political party had consulted it over a pledge to provide tablet computers in classrooms, which it described as an educational reform.
Union president Kevin Bonello yesterday questioned whether the Nationalist and Labour parties were really listening to teachers since practically none of the Malta Union of Teachers’ electoral proposals had been taken on board.
“We agree that tablets are good educational tools and we’re not saying we oppose them. But they are another reform,” he said, adding teachers were already overwhelmed by ongoing changes.
The union felt there were more pressing educational priorities than investing millions of euros in tablets.
These included reducing the number of students in classrooms to ensure teachers could cope better with mixed abilities and addressing basic issues such as cleanliness and maintenance.
“Last week, the union received a petition from a State school with over 600 students appealing for cleaning staff,” he said.
Another school complained prostitutes were loitering outside the building.
School safety was a major concern that urgently had to be addressed. In the past six working days, there had been two reports of attacks in schools.
“Just yesterday the assistant head of a State primary school informed me he had been assaulted by a parent,” he said.
On another occasion, a parent attacked a teacher who said a child had lice, he added.
Some months ago, the union proposed solutions, such as a security guard in schools with 300 students, and the education authorities had until the end of January to react.
A meeting was set for Friday and he hoped the outcome would be “fruitful”.
Mr Bonello flagged pending issues such as precarious work conditions faced by learning support assistants and delays in allowance payments.
Anti-abuse support
Teachers can experience abuse ranging from bullying by students and parents to intimidation from colleagues and superiors, Mr Bonello said.
For this reason, the MUT unrolled its awareness campaign, Together Against Abuse, to show teachers they could find support through the union.
Information leaflets will be given to teachers and a video can be viewed on You Tube at youtube/Lmh3qTMggT8.