(Adds ministry statement)

The Alternative Learning Programme is an educational solution to help students which need it most and the ministry is focused on delivering this path successfully in its second year, the Education Ministry said this evening.

It was reacting to a letter sent by the Malta Union of Teachers earlier today in which the union said the programme was analogous to a time bomb ready to explode.

The MUT called for immediate interventions to save it from the disaster it was heading to and called for an urgent meeting with the minister.

The programme is intended to provide an alternative way of learning for the secondary school students who, for some reason, are not able to complete or sit for the MATSEC ordinary level examinations.

In its letter, which can be read here, the MUT said it was highly concerned with what was going on in this programme, especially at the Paola centre is concerned.

“The Union believes that the ALP programme, despite all the good intentions and the near to miraculous interventions of the professionals in the school, is analogous to a time bomb ready to explode and immediate interventions are needed to save it from the disaster it is heading to.”

The union said that teachers involved in the programme did not have a syllabus or curriculum to follow but were inventing their own depending on the student cohort.

The staff were also not given background on students with behavioural problems and had very limited support. These students integration was highly questionable and was proving to be detrimental to themselves and others.

The MUT said the programme was also burdened with statemented students who required the support of an LSA without providing the LSAs necessary.

It said that teachers were admonished for trying to exert some sort of order or discipline in their classes.

“Arguably the whole ALP programme is in breach of law because it is treating underage students that fall under the compulsory age bracket as mature students, which they are not,” the MUT said.

It said that students were also devising ways and means of how to get themselves into the programme.

MINISTRY ADAMANT TO MAKE PROGRAMME WORK

In its reaction, the ministry said Malta needs to offer more vocational experiences in its education system and a number of measures had already been introduced.Leading these, the ALP offered a variety of vocational experiences, from hospitality to welding, that engaged students who were otherwise disillusioned with the traditional classroom.

"Rather than losing these students, with little prospect of meaningful employment, the ALP is offering them a road leading to skilled employment and a career.

"The ALP Paola centre boasts of a fully equipped gym, a hairdressing salon, a design and technology lab, a youth hub where the students relax and reinforce their group skills, and basic skills classes of Maltese, English and Maths, among many other areas.

"The ministry is also supporting the development of sports activities for ALP Paola and is negotiating with Tarxien NGOs to organise sports sessions for all students to keep the timetable varied and engaging."

The ministry said it met MUT representatives before the programme started in September and held a number of meetings since.

Earlier today, it again met the MUT and provided feedback to their concerns.

The ministry said education and other technical officers were providing curriculum support to the teachers both in academic and vocational subjects.

All students except for one, it said, came from mainstream secondary schools.

Besides, groups at Paola never exceeded 12 students. This was done to ensure a proper teacher-student ratio that would permit individual attention.

At the ALP Paola, a system of group support by LSAs was adopted who in turn give support in groups where needed.

Vocational teachers, who in some cases and in certain areas, were very limited, were being trained and supported to develop their teaching programmes and assessment tools.

The decision over which students were to join the ALP was taken in summer in conjunction with education officers, school administrations and psychosocial professionals.

"No new students are being admitted into the ALP midway through the scholastic year," the ministry said.

It said it was adamant that the ALP would become a programme which would help students into vocational education and provide them with the necessary tools to get the necessary skills for a flourishing future.