The change in the leadership of the teachers’ union will not impact any of the positions held by the MUT in the past, newly elected president Marco Bonnici has pledged.
Mr Bonnici spoke to The Sunday Times of Malta a day after he beat rival Franklin Barbara by just six votes in an election that was closely followed, in part due to the bitter campaign which saw the two candidates accusing one another of hijacking the electoral process.
“The union’s positions do not reflect its leadership but that of our members. I do not believe that it is those at the helm that determine the MUT’s positions but its members,” Mr Bonnici said.
His comments stand in contrast to those of his rival during the campaign, when Mr Barbara promised to bring what he said was much-needed change to educators’ professional lives.
Pointing to home schooling as an example, Mr Bonnici said that when the MUT made its position against this concept public, it was following feedback it received from its members.
Asked whether the MUT served as a trade union or as a professional body, Mr Bonnici insisted the union has always served as both.
“The MUT is both a professional body as well as a trade union. In the past, because of a number of reasons, the union elements were very strong and vocal.
My wish is that the trade union elements remain and are further strengthened while the professional elements are also developed further
“I do believe that this should still be the case. My wish is that the trade union elements remain and are further strengthened while the professional elements are also developed further,” he said.
In order to successfully achieve this, he said, a foundation would be set up, focusing solely on education, a pledge he had made during the election campaign.
The foundation would serve a dual role, focusing on both the needs of the students as well as those of the educators.
“I want us to reintroduce things like the popular students’ magazine Sagħatar as well as other educational material that affects students directly.
“Then when it comes to the teachers we would be focusing more on research, training as well as other aspects such as campaigning for those things that have a direct impact on the profession,” Mr Bonnici explained.
Pressed on whether the union would focus mainly on protecting the needs of educators or those of the students, Mr Bonnici said that while the members were its primary focus, the MUT was also indirectly of service to the students.
“We would be very irresponsible if we issued directives that we know harmed students. Therefore it goes without saying that the students’ interests are always kept in mind.”
Mr Bonnici was also asked about the Learning Outcomes Framework, whose introduction has been stalled as a result of the union’s objections. The framework is intended to free schools from centrally-imposed syllabi and come up with their own systems to address students’ needs.
Mr Bonnici said that while the MUT had for a year been asking for things to be properly mapped out, this had not yet happened, even though the deadline was looming.
The introduction of the framework would lead to some disruption of the education system, so the union did not want to come to an agreement before things were in order.
“Looking at this from the professional side and not as a trade union, we do not want something that is half-baked. We are not satisfied with the information in hand and we do not believe that this benefits anyone at this stage.”
The same thing had happened with the reform of colleges, he added, where such reform had been implemented without the necessary preparation and as a result everyone had suffered.