Teachers often had no choice but to charge students fees for activities they were expected to hold, despite not having the necessary funding, the teachers’ union said.

“Most educators already use a substantial amount of their personal means to create resources for their classes,” the Malta Union of Teachers wrote in a letter to Fr Vince Magri, of the Paulo Freire Institute in Żejtun, which offers support to poor children and adults.

Last week, Fr Magri attended a conference on children and poverty and called for more sensitivity by teachers and schools.

He said children needed access to free extracurricular activities but there was “an enormous lack of sensitivity” when teachers gave a list of what had to be bought to take part.

Former Children’s Commissioner Sonia Camilleri, a teacher, also stressed the point during the conference.

“There is lack of sensitivity as we are embarrassing these children each time we ask for a euro for something,” she told the conference, adding that schools often collected money for outings, photocopies or donations.

In the letter sent to Fr Magri, also circulated to the media, the teachers’ union said it agreed with the argument that the financial situation of poorer students should not be exposed and that all children should have an equal right to education, including extracurricular activities.

“The situation, however, is one where teachers are left with no choice but to ask for fees as directed by the school management teams, which, in turn, are expected to organise such activities without being given the necessary funding,” the union wrote.