Supply teachers who do not at yet have the necessary qualifications will have to undergo training to obtain a warrant, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said today.

He was replying to questions by this newspaper after Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat yesterday pledged that educators with definite contracts would be given permanent jobs.

Concerns were raised however that such a measure could discriminate against those with all the necessary qualifications.

Mr Bartolo insisted however that this would not be the case, as supply teachers would have to further their own education in order to obtain necessary warrants.

Asked whether these supply teachers would be leaving their posts while they received training, Mr Bartolo said they would undergo evening training or through online courses while they worked.

Mr Bartolo, along with Dr Muscat, was addressing a press conference to give additional details on education sector proposals made by the Labour Party.

[attach id=578330 size="large"]Mr Bartolo and Dr Muscat at today's press conference. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli[/attach]

Asked about a proposal to remove exam fees, despite fees having been significantly increased just three years ago, Mr Bartolo explained that this was being done as the examination and qualification process will be carried out “in house” by the Matsec board.

When the prices were hiked in 2014, the board had said that this was done so as to cover expenses. At the time the Nationalist Party had insisted that this was merely a new tax on education imposed by the government.

Mr Bartolo also said that if the Labour Party was re-elected, a number of measures will also be introduced to cut down the stress on students, insisting that little measures such as the monitoring of the weight of schoolbags and a national homework plan, children’s lives would be made easier.

This, he went on, would in turn ensure that the children have more time to play and spend time with the family which are also crucial to their development.