No Maths and Maltese exams will be held in secondary schools this scholastic year, the Malta Union of Teachers said on Monday.

It said it is standing by its directives after the government failed to heed its complaints about a shortage of teachers, particularly in those two subjects.

In a statement, the union said teachers' caseload was above what was laid down in the sectoral agreement.

it drew the ministry's attention to the situation more than a year ago, underlining the fact that teachers were being over-worked and expected to give too many lessons.

This, it said, is stressing them out and affecting teaching.

The government, it said, had not heeded its complaints and had not enrolled additional teachers.

At this rate, it warned, pupils would end up not only without exams, but without teachers. 

Concerned parents told the Times of Malta at the end of last month that they had assumed that, following the half-yearly exams in February, the issue had been resolved. At the time, the education directorate had stepped in, compiling papers from past exam questions and some new material.

According to the parents, however, the exam papers had not covered the entire syllabus.

“I asked my son whether he needed any help with his Maltese. It was then that he informed me his teacher was telling students they were likely not to have a proper exam once again,” one mother said.

It was then that he informed me his teacher was telling students they were likely not to have a proper exam once again

This was soon confirmed by the head of the school who, while insisting that he could not divulge much information, told her the exam papers for the two subjects were yet to be sent to the school.

Not having final exams for the two core subjects was especially worrying for Year 10 (Form 4) students because end-of-year exams were one of the last chances they had to be tested before they sat for their O level examinations.