Introducing vocational and applied learning programmes in secondary schools without adopting a new approach in the teaching of core subjects would lead to nowhere, the president of the teachers’ union cautioned.
Kevin Bonello sounded this warning when asked to comment on the secondary schools education reform unveiled two days ago with the aim of reducing school dropouts.
The changes, which are set to come into force in three years’ time at Form 3 level, are aimed at students who are more inclined to learn through a hands-on approach.
“While the Malta Union of Teachers agrees in principle with this move, such reform is bound to fail if there is no radical overhaul in the manner in which core academic subjects like mathematics are being taught,” he said.
READ: Vocational subjects to be offered in secondary schools from 2019
“In that case, the reform would simply translate to a greater choice of subjects without addressing the heart of the problem,” Mr Bonello said.
Set to be introduced at the start of the 2019/20 scholastic year, the implications of the changes are already on the agenda of negotiations between the government and the MUT on a new sectoral agreement.
“In this respect, I must point out that the government has not ruled out our proposal to extend this reform to the core academic subjects,” Mr Bonello said.
The existing pool of teachers will not be sufficient
He questioned the government’s plans from a human resources perspective in view of the fact that the new subjects would be offered in all schools within the various colleges.
“The existing pool of teachers will not be sufficient neither now nor in three years’ time. It would be much more feasible to offer these subjects in at least one school within every college rather than across the board,” Mr Bonello remarked.
The Education Ministry has unveiled plans to reform the university course leading to a degree in education to cater for the new subjects. Talks are also under way to retrain existing teachers in this regard.
Moreover, from next year, Mcast and ITS graduates will be eligible to further their studies to acquire the necessary certification to teach the new vocational and applied subjects.
The Times of Malta yesterday asked the Education Ministry for a full list of subjects in the pipeline. These would complement five vocational subjects introduced last year: engineering, information technology, health and social care, agribusiness and hospitality.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said: “We are talking about employability programmes where students will be exposed to different workplaces where different trades and skills are required. We want to cultivate flexibility and transferability or skills rather than go for a narrow technical trade approach.”
A media report quoting a “ministry spokeswoman” saying the complete list had not yet been finalised was neither confirmed nor denied.