The government's failure in the education sector has become evident by its lack of a robust long-term plan and its failure to deliver declared objectives. From the failure to deliver the school per year for the third consecutive year, to the school-transport debacle, and the unprecedented retraction of three education bills already tabled in parliament following the threat of a teachers strike: this year's back to school fiasco unmasked government pretences. Making matters worse when all failed, it played the humility card and the blame game, shifting culpability on parents, transport operators, unions and teachers themselves.
Governance has become a major issue in education too
Governance is a major issue facing educational reform in our country. We have witnessed a concerted effort by this government to centralize decision making at ministerial level or through the agencies it is setting up. The drive to decentralize decision-making responsibility to College level which the Amendment to the Education Act of 2006 promoted has slowly been eroded.
Various researchers and academics have noted the need to empower schools - their leaders and teachers alike. In Malta, the opposite is happening. The ministry seems to be taking control of everything, showing a lack of trust in the teaching profession. Government aspires to follow the success of the Finnish system without first working on the fundamentals on which it is built.
The teaching profession under siege
The teaching profession in Finland is held in high esteem, is respected by both government and society and is adequately paid. In Malta respect has been systematically eroded by none other than government policies followed by social media attacks on the profession, and by some 'hotheaded supporters' when teachers decided to stand up for their rights. Salaries remain abysmally low while responsibilities are on the increase. This government had the gall to legislate for heads of schools to become personally responsible for their schools when they are not even allowed to print a photocopy at a printer of their choice. It goes to show a ministry oblivious of the reality teachers face on a daily basis. No wonder few want to join the teaching profession.
Ministerial direction that confuses more than it coordinates
The Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, which has served the country well in producing our teachers for the last 40 years, upgraded the teaching course from a Bachelor's degree to a Master's degree. The Ministry has publicly supported the initiative but to everyone's surprise, through a government-controlled institute, it will provide a similar course albeit downgrading it from 120 ECTS to 90. This has created an element of confusion as the Ministry seems unable to decide on the quality of study it requires for one to take up the teaching profession.
The fable of one new school per year
The Nationalist Party administration of 2008-2013 had a clear plan to build a new modern school every year until 2020. In those five years of economic depression or not, it lived up to its promise and planned, built and opened a school every single year. In those five years, the same ministry opened no less than 60 sports projects in 60 months.
This Labour administration has unfortunately and inversely been postponing a planned school per year and we have seen very little sports facilities. Clearly, they lack plan and will. The Marsascala, St Paul's Bay and Victoria kids and parents know exactly what we are talking about here. Other schools have been left without equipment for their laboratories or without the promised sports facilities.
Common sense is not so common
Following the retraction of the government's education bills and the subsequent avoidance of the strike, the Minister boasted that the education system 'weathered the storm', stopping short of admitting that this was a futile storm of the government's own making. The Parliamentary Secretary followed by stating that 'common sense' has finally prevailed, inadvertently admitting that the government's approach to education reform was anything but sensible.
Mr Puli is Secretary General & Shadow Minister for Education