The government has rejected a shift to exclusive online teaching as opposed to teaching in-person, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, MUT president Marco Bonnici said that the MUT is closely monitoring the rise in cases and is concerned about how the recent spike will affect both teachers and students.

A record 336 cases were registered today.

“The main problem we are facing is that the seven-day average of cases is very high, with 200 cases serving as the average last week”, Bonnici said. As a result of the soaring numbers, a high numbers of students and teachers are forced to quarantine, and replacement teachers are needed urgently.

Although the vaccination process is taking place in the education sector, the MUT has still suggested a shift from in-person teaching to online teaching to reduce the spread of the virus. This shift, however, has been rejected by the government and the health authorities, who insist that schools should remain in person as much as possible, despite the rising number of active cases.

The MUT also said it is concerned about the sources of the soaring number of cases, saying that the union is unsure if the spike has been caused by the UK variant or individuals simply breaching current measures. Bonnici said that schools are “following protocol strictly” and that “there is nothing more to be done other than what [schools] are already doing”.

MUT’s last suggestion that was accepted by the government was this time last year, when schools were closed at the start of the outbreak. Since then, the MUT’s suggestions in the wake of the growing number of cases have been rejected, Bonnici said. The Health authorities and the Prime Minister have both insisted that there is no reason for schools to stop in-person teaching, Bonnici said.

The MUT has appealed to the health authorities and educational authorities over the past year to analyse the pandemic situation and its effect on educators, children and parents, in order to provide a safer learning environment. The Union also held a strike last January whereby teachers remained for two days after the Christmas holidays. The protest was held to condemn the education ministry’s “irresponsible” handling of the pandemic.