Lack of information about the new ‘applied’ subjects, to be introduced in State schools next scholastic year, is prompting concern among teachers and their union.
They have not yet been told how many pupils have opted for these subjects, for which teachers are expected adopt a hands-on approach, while the plans on how to introduce them have not yet been communicated, they complain.
The new subjects will be rolled out starting in Year 9. Students in Year 8 (formerly known as Form 2) last month made their subject choices which included, for the first time, the applied subjects that would lead eventually to an applied version of the SEC certificate.
The 13 applied subjects include topics such as Engineering Technology, Health and Social Care, Hairdressing and Beauty, and Retail, while the core subjects of Maths, English, Maltese and Science can also be taken in the applied versions.
They will be taught in workshops rather than through the traditional theory-based techniques.
About 60 teachers recently did a 10-day training course to help them make the shift.
However, teachers who spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta on condition of anonymity say they have yet to be supplied with information on the planned changes, including who of them will be teaching the new subjects. With only three months remaining in the current scholastic year, they are worried there will be little time to plan ahead.
They also fear that if teachers of traditional subjects suddenly start being moved around to teach the applied ones, come September there could be a crisis, with not enough educators to cover all the subjects.
One expects the directorates to make their plans known to teachers
The Education Ministry has come in for criticism over lack of preparation for other projects in the recent past, notably summer schools and free transport.
Ministry officials told The Sunday Times of Malta last month that the applied subjects would be rolled out “come what may”, prompting the teachers to question whether the change would be introduced even if still “half-baked”.
When asked about the number of students who had opted for the applied subjects and which of the subjects were the most popular, the Education Ministry’s permanent secretary Frank Fabri said the “the process is still ongoing”.
Other questions remained unanswered.
No 'specific information' - union
Contacted about the matter, Malta Union of Teachers’ head Marco Bonnici said the union did not have “specific information” on the number of students that had applied for each of the new subjects.
“Neither does the union have any information about what plans the ministry is drawing up for all students to have enough teachers by the next scholastic year – in both applied and traditional subjects – and which of them will be teaching the new subjects.
“What the union can deduce, however, is that after all the promotion given to these new subjects, many students have applied and the requirements will be significant,” Mr Bonnici said.
He described the change as “yet another reform” in which educators were not only being excluded from all decision-making but were not being informed about what was happening.
“One expects that, at least for the sake of reassurance, the directorates to make their plans known to teachers, especially to those who will be directly and indirectly impacted by these changes.”
Teachers of non-applied subjects, he said, had approached the union saying they were feeling “disadvantaged” because promotion and investment was being directed only at these new subjects while “traditional subjects are being ignored”.
“The MUT asks whether in the current circumstances the ministry can afford to continue alienating currently employed teachers,” the union head said.
The Education Ministry has said it expects each school to have at least one group of students for every subject on offer next year. It envisages requiring about 29 teachers for the new subjects. However, ministry officials would not talk numbers when speaking to The Sunday Times of Malta last month, insisting that it was “too early”.
claire.caruana@timesofmalta.com