A number of educators who signed up for a 10-day crash course to obtain skills needed to teach 13 new applied subjects come September dropped out half-way through, according to the teachers’ union.
Malta Union of Teachers president Marco Bonnici said some of the teachers who had initially expressed an interest in the new applied subjects had decided not to complete the crash course.
In a major shift of the education system away from a purely academic approach, students at state schools struggling with traditional teaching methods will be able to take subjects focusing on hands-on learning when the new academic year starts.
The Malta Union of Teachers has already warned there might not be enough educators to cater for all the new subjects. Education Ministry officials have repeatedly dismissed such concerns, telling Times of Malta last month about 60 teachers in possession of a teaching warrant would undergo a 10-day training course to make the shift to the applied subjects.
Teachers felt the system was not yet adequately prepared for the changes
Mr Bonnici said he did not yet have the exact number of the teachers who had dropped out but could say that “a good number” had approached the union saying they had decided not to complete the training. The teachers felt the system was not yet adequately prepared for the changes, he remarked.
Ministry denies the MUT's claims
However, a ministry spokeswoman insisted the union’s claims were “not true”. “In fact,” she added, “62 persons attended and concluded the 10-day course.”
The government is adamant to introduce the new subjects “come what may”. However, Mr Bonnici said that, as per the agreement with the union, educators could not be forced to take up a subject that was not the same as the one they had been originally engaged to teach.
He was commenting at the end of a press conference called by the union to report that the teaching profession was in crisis and that the government was not doing enough to address mounting concerns.
Mr Bonnici said the situation was a result of developments in recent years, such as the drastic increase in the number of students in schools due to the influx of foreigners, the changes in students’ abilities, the introduction of new subjects and reforms introduced by the government that required more educators.
He insisted that while other areas were being heavily promoted to ensure that students opted for certain careers, the same could not be said for teaching. On the rare occasion that a campaign to attract students to teaching courses had been launched, this was half-baked and lacking effort, Mr Bonnici complained.