The Union of Professional Educators - Voice of The Workers, is this year celebrating Educators’ Day, a day which allows us to reflect on the virtues of those Educators that have touched our lives and have made us the people we are today.

In a statement, UPE thanked all educators for the sterling work, done during the year even though much of the work done with students, lacks in appreciation by both the general public and the authorities. 

“We thank educators for striving during these difficult times, even though the odds are against them since they are always under the overly-critical scrutiny of the authorities. 

“We thank those educators who spend time away from their families, correcting and preparing resources for their students, despite not being paid enough. 

“We thank those educators who act as mothers and fathers to the students under their care by feeding them at school when their guardians forget about their most basic needs. 

“We thank those educators who listen and offer a sympathetic shoulder to those who are abandoned by society, even when they are the ones who are forgotten by all. 

“We thank those educators who go the extra mile to see special needs students reach their full potential even though there are no resources readily at hand. 

“We thank those educators who, every month, spend a good part of their salary creating a welcoming and homely working environment, despite the poor conditions of the classrooms they have to work in. 

“We thank those educators who miss out on their breaks to fill in for the lack of personnel at school, resulting from the current shortage our educational system is experiencing. 

“We thank those educators who have put up with injustice over the years, due to various shortcomings which the Ministry has overlooked. 

“We thank our Gozitan educators who face a long commute on a daily basis so as to be present with their students, and selflessly adapt their lives to the benefit of that of others. “

UPE said it is fully aware that nowadays the profession has lost the respect it is due as a result of various factors, and for this reason, the Union encourages the Public to be more appreciative of the fact that their own success in life is also due to the presence and intervention of Educators throughout their early years.

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World Teachers Day 2019: Young Teachers: The future of the Profession

The Malta Union of Teachers is commemorating World Teachers Day 2019, held annually on 5th October. This year’s UNESCO World Teachers’ Day is celebrating teachers with the theme, “Young Teachers: The future of the Profession.” The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide, to take stock of achievements, and to address some of the issues central for attracting and keeping the brightest minds and young talents in the profession.

Locally, educators and students are suffering from wrong decisions and mistakes which are being taken by the education authorities. All newly recruited educators in state schools have not been provided with proper resources such as laptops. This has been caused by delays in the issuing of the procurement process leaving educators without the essential tools to provide the best educational experience to students. Apart from this, the MUT has been calling for some time to for example increase the stipends for student teachers to help them during their teaching practice. Measures like this will help future teachers during their training.

According to MUT President Marco Bonnici, “security in schools is also a major issue as educational authorities have not yet for example allocated the required number of educators to carry out supervision before and after school hours. This seemingly cost-cutting exercise is leaving the most vulnerable students unsupervised. Apart from this, our appeal is once again being made for measures to increase proper security in schools before similar accidents to the ones we had in the past years.”

This year’s UNESCO themes reminds us that the early twenty-first century is not an easy time to be a teacher. While teachers were once highly respected professionals, valued, trusted and accepted as inspirational role models for young people, nowadays they too easily serve as scapegoats for the failures of education systems. Indeed, in societies that tend to glorify celebrities, we are more likely to see praise heaped on performing artists, sports personalities and social media influencers than on outstanding teachers.

“As we commemorate World Teachers’ Day 2019, we must take time to look at the future of the profession and the role of young teachers in it – taking onboard the changing climate of education and schooling, the need to draw in and retain a new generation of dedicated educators, and to prepare them for the 21st century challenges of ‘teaching in diversity’ and ‘diversity in teaching.’”

Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day (WTD) commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets forth the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. To complement the 1966 Recommendation, the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to cover teaching and research personnel in higher education.