Teachers and students were being badly affected by the cold spell, the Malta Union of Teachers said yesterday.

It said the temperature in the majority of classrooms was too low to enable teachers to carry out their duties and students to concentrate on their work, especially at such a critical time when they were sitting for their half-yearly examinations.

The MUT said it received several reports from members in state schools regarding the working conditions of teaching grades and the learning environment of students during this period. Teaching grades reported that some students were suffering because school uniforms were not adequate for such low temperatures. Often, it was as cold outside as it was inside classrooms, with temperatures as low as 8C.

In some schools, including some of those built recently, students were required to walk outdoors to change class several times due to the absence of interconnected corridors, the union said.

These working conditions were unacceptable, it added, insisting that the government should invest to ensure there was an appropriate learning environment. When contacted, an Education Ministry spokesman said it was normal practice for school heads to advise their staff to inform students and parents to take precautionary measures against cold weather by using suitable clothing.

During this cold phase, precautions were taken to ensure all in the school were comfortable, the ministry said.

It contested the MUT’s claims that the temperature inside equalled that outside and said that large windows in schools were normally double insulated.