Secondary school students are still unsure if they will be sitting for their maths and Maltese exams in the coming weeks as talks between the government and the teachers’ union have stalled.
The uncertainty stems from directives issued by the Malta Union of Teachers, which ordered teachers and heads of department of the two core subjects to refrain from providing or correcting exam papers.
Concerned parents who spoke to the Times of Malta insisting on anonymity for fear their children might face repercussions, said they assumed that, following the half-yearly exams in February, the issue had been resolved. At the time, the education directorate had stepped in, compiling papers from past exam questions and some new material.
According to the parents, however, the exam papers had not covered the entire syllabus.
Now, just days from the start of the final examinations, it has emerged that the union and the government have yet to resolve the issue and the directives remain in force.
The parents pointed out they only found out about the situation when they sat down with their children to do some revisions in preparation for the exams.
“I asked my son whether he needed any help with his Maltese. It was then that he informed me his teacher was telling students they were likely not to have a proper exam once again,” one mother said.
It was then that he informed me his teacher was telling students they were likely not to have a proper exam once again
This was soon confirmed by the head of the school who, while insisting that he could not divulge much information, told her the exam papers for the two subjects were yet to be sent to the school.
Another parent recounted a similar experience. After finding out about the problem, the parent called the Education Department and was initially told no information could be given. Pressing further, the parent was informed “there is an issue” with the two core subjects.
Not having final exams for the two core subjects was especially worrying for Year 10 (Form 4) students because end-of-year exams were one of the last chances they had to be tested before they sat for their O level examinations.
Attempts by the Times of Malta to seek comments from heads of school proved futile.
The Malta Union of Teachers confirmed that the directives were still in force, warning they would remain, even though the exams were around the corner, if the situation in schools did not change.
“The situation has not only remained the same but it has deteriorated. Teachers of various subjects, mostly maths and Maltese, have for over a year been assigned more lessons than indicated in the agreement with the government,” the union said in a circular to members.
It said that though the Education Ministry had repeatedly insisted the union was painting a wrong picture of the situation, information coming from teachers themselves confirmed the matter.
Because of the many lessons teachers had to handle, they were also struggling to implement changes introduced by the education authorities themselves, the union noted. This, it added, had an impact on the quality of education being provided.
Both the permanent secretary and the Education Ministry were informed about this and on how angry teachers are because the ministry was saying the issue would be addressed while facts continued to prove otherwise, the MUT commented.
A string of questions on the matter sent to the Education Ministry last week, including what plans were in place to ensure students would not be forced to miss their exams, remained unanswered at the time of writing. In a curt reply, a spokeswoman only said the authorities were “still in discussions on the directive and the issues which led to it”.