The maths and Maltese state school final exams would not be “past papers”, the government said. Instead, sets of “standard exam papers” would be put together by “education professionals and practitioners”, a spokesman for the Education Ministry told Times of Malta on Friday.
A clarification was sought from the ministry after it announced on Thursday that, despite directives by the Malta Union of Teachers instructing educators not to prepare or correct any papers, students in state secondary schools would still be sitting for their exams in the coming weeks.
“The MUT directive is clear in what can and cannot be done. The ultimate responsibility for these papers is solely of the Education Ministry and directorates. They will be standard exam papers and not past papers. The exam papers for the subjects in question will be prepared and corrected by education professionals and practitioners,” the spokesman said.
The union and the ministry have been at odds for months over claims that teachers were given more lessons than agreed, leading the MUT to insist earlier this week it would not be withdrawing its directives and accusing the government of trying to “bribe and divide” educators with its offer.
It said the ministry had offered a once-only payment of €3,000 to those who had a caseload of 25 lessons in a bid to have the directive withdrawn, an offer meant to divide the teachers without solving anything.
The ministry spokesman said that “addressing the source of the issue, which is the load of 25 lessons for teachers, remains paramount within this context”.
“As early as September 2018, the ministry took a number of actions related to the recruitment process that led to positive outcomes. As a result, all eligible applicants who successfully sat for the Maltese and mathematics interviews are engaged for the next scholastic year.
“If and whenever eligible and successful candidates apply through the rolling call, they will be engaged immediately. The MUT is very well informed and appreciative of these measures,” the spokesman added.
Despite the fact that the directive would remain active, he went on, the government believed that a solution should be found in the “immediate future and in time for the next scholastic year”.