With a teachers’ strike looming, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo did not show up for a scheduled visit to Junior College on Thursday afternoon, with journalists being told that this was due to “other commitments”.

Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Clifton Grima, who was to accompany Bartolo, turned up at the Junior College touring the sixth form’s Freshers’ Week alone instead. 

When asked why he had been sent to the college alone to face the media, Grima said it was his duty as a parliamentary secretary within the Ministry for Education to be present at the sixth form.

Grima told journalists that Bartolo was not attending because of “other commitments”.  He did not elaborate.

Teachers across all schools have been instructed not to report to work on Monday by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT), in reaction to a new Education Act that was proposed by the Ministry in recent days.

The union took umbrage at numerous points on the Act, namely one relating to the replacement of teacher’s “permanent” warrants with a renewable one which would be issued depending on professional development courses and a proficiency test.

The MUT on Thursday morning rejected a meeting with the Ministry, saying that its position on the Act as proposed is clear and that it intends to move ahead with its strike plans. The minister said his door is still open for discussion.

Grima said that he was convinced that with the “good will” of both sides, a solution to this matter could be found.  He called for dialogue between the two sides and said that it was only with discussion that the matter could be resolved and solutions could be found.

When asked if he thought that a solution could be found by Monday, Grima repeated his call for a discussion to take place.  He said that if the parties sat down and discussed the matter then he was confident that a solution would be found.

He also confirmed that, contrary to what the MUT was claiming, teachers had indeed been consulted on the text of the new Act.

The strike will affect state, church and independent schools along with post-secondary and tertiary institutions as well.

 The MUT’s directives have also gained the support of the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) and the Forum Unions Malta as well, whilst the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta.