Education Minister Clifton Grima said that the promised “significant” wage increase for educators is still “in discussion” but he could not disclose when this will be finalised.
Before the 2022 general election, on 2 March 2022, while addressing a Labour event in Santa Lucia, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that educators’ salaries will “significantly” increase if the Labour Party won the election.
Grima confirmed that what the government “promised, it will do”.
Discussions between the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the Education Ministry are taking place to decide on a new sectoral agreement, that will include a better financial package for educators, Grima said.
Pressed to offer more details about what is meant by a “significant increase” in pay he could only say that the two sides are still discussing. Also, when asked when the sectoral agreement will be finalised he said, “when the time is right”.
Educator shortage, improving the quality, supply teachers, wage, Junior College reduced entry requirements and civic education to aid 16-year-olds vote, were among the topics Grima discussed during an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday.
Preparing students for the real world
In an education reform policy paper, written up by the University Students’ Council (KSU), out of 651 respondents only 4% said they believed the government is doing enough to improve the education system in Malta.
Asked whether this percentage is fair and what issues has the government highlighted as being the priorities, Grima said that “people need to understand and appreciate that work has taken place and more work will continue to take place in different aspects of education”.
He mentioned how education must also start from a very young age, even before the student has reached the obligatory age to attend school.
“I believe one of the most important points, is that people feel that there is a jump… from the [school bench] to the outside world, the working world.”
“I am someone who always says that the educational system should not prepare workers, but it should prepare citizens, individuals who have the necessary skills to adapt themselves to the path they want to take in society.”
He added that the Ministry wants to put more emphasis on continuous learning so that the people are capable of asking questions and adapting themselves to different situations.
He said that the educational system should not completely focus on exams, although they are important, it should also train students in other ways to make sure that they will be successful in the path that they choose.
Educator shortage
Before the start of the 2022/23 scholastic year, Grima publicly said that there is no shortage of teachers in State schools. When this was mentioned to him, he said he still endorses that statement.
“On that day the reality was that for the first time in years, the Ministry was confident in saying, after work that was carried out in summer, that at the beginning of the scholastic year State schools had all the educators.”
Shortly after the scholastic year began the Eurydice report showed that Malta has an average of one teacher for every eight students. However, the MUT estimated that the figure is actually around 20 students per teacher, and reported that a lot of the classrooms are packed with students, often in breach of the minimum conditions for classroom space in schools.
Having said that, although Grima still stuck by his previous statement, he said that he “100% agrees with the comment made by MUT, where they are saying that we need more educators” because the MUT “addressed the situation as a whole”.
“Today, when all classrooms have an educator, if the educator is on sick leave or if you have a female educator on maternity leave, in these cases you notice how important it is to always have more educators.”
“We also need to understand that the educational system evolved over the years. Whereas before there used to be one educator with 30 children, today classes shrunk and I agree with the number put forward by the MUT as that is the reality.”
“One also needs to understand that the government is investing; we have calls for educators constantly open for one role or another. To give an idea we have around 4,000 LSEs who are contributing to helping our children.”
“It's not the right amount, for it to be the right amount we need more.”
Under qualified educators
Grima was asked about educators who got the post without having the necessary requirement of a Master in Teaching and Learning (MTL), and whether this discourages students to do the MTL. He was also asked about what this says about the quality of education in Malta, where students are being educated by educators who are not properly educated.
Before moving forward, he pointed out that the education system does not have a reset button and in order to improve, the government must actively work to build on what there is already by improving what it can and changing what is not good.
To give context, he mentioned how whereas in the past someone would graduate with a Bachelor of Education and become a qualified teacher, today you must get your degree and then do your MTL.
He pointed out that once students finish their first degree they have many different masters they can choose from, which might not necessarily lead them down the path of teaching.
“Therefore, one must understand that the profession of educators is competing with a market and our country’s economic engine, which is very competitive. All markets are trying to offer the best conditions to attract talented human resources.”
He then brought up the topic of how people who are finding a teaching post but have not done the MTL course are being employed as supply teachers.
“Therefore, you have educators with different qualifications teaching in our classrooms. This does not mean that you have a lower quality than other educators.”
“We are working and insisting… that through different paths and routes, the same educators who today are supply teachers, will be able to get all the necessary qualifications so that they can obtain the permanent warrant of educators.”
He mentioned how a lot of these supply teachers do excellent work, and therefore, they should not be forgotten as they are educators just the same.
“We need to support them so that they can take the path that will allow them to achieve the right qualifications.”
Supply teachers
Following up on the same topic Grima was asked whether he was aware of situations where supply teachers would have their contracts renewed many years in a row, sometimes for over 12 years, without ever offering a permanent contract, which would result in a discrepancy in pay between a supply teacher and a regular teacher.
Grima said that he was very aware of these cases and explained why this took place. He said: “When a person is a supply teacher, in their fourth year as an employee with the government, if they show evidence that they have begun a path at university that will lead them to have the necessary qualifications, then the contract will become permanent.”
“I am going to make it clear, those in the fourth year who show evidence that they are receiving educational training and are investing in themselves to have the qualifications that are necessary to achieve a permanent warrant of a teacher, then this person will receive an indefinite contract.”
He spoke about the importance of incentives for educators to improve the quality of education that they offer “to assure that they have the standards necessary to offer the best service for children”.
He said that it is the difference in qualifications which causes this discrepancy between supply teachers and regular teachers.
“We need to assure that those who enter our classrooms have the required quality to offer the best education to our children.”
“In my discourse, I always make a distinction… between good education that results in the complete development of a person and education which is not good.”
“The educator is central to all of this.”
Quality education: incentivising educators to improve
Asked whether the current incentives to help educators improve the quality of their teaching, such as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions and the courses offered at the Institute for Education, were enough or whether the government should be offering more and better incentives, Grima said: “There are already incentives for people to invest in themselves… It’s never enough.”
“I'll tell you it is never enough, especially in such a delicate sector and as important as education.”
He once again mentioned the competitive market and the strong economy in Malta as he said that “this is the reality”. “We have an economy which always wants more quality human resources. And our educators are a quality resource.”
He spoke about his experience working on collective agreements with the MUT, which therefore helps him understand the point of view and different aspects of the Unions that represents these educators.
He gave the example of the collective agreement with Junior College last year, where there was a reference to the qualifications that a person obtains and how these can help an educator improve in their field.
Educator pay
Asked for more information about the sectoral agreement and the increase in teacher wages Grima replied by speaking about the significance of this sectoral agreement which does not only affect educators but also affects thousands of families.
“Let's not make the mistake of saying that the sectoral agreement only refers to the financial package. There are other conditions. The financial package is very important but there are other aspects, such as the environment… and respect for educators.”
He added how the previous sectoral agreement, which was signed in 2018, was the best sectoral agreement that was signed in this country.
Pressed about how this sectoral agreement was scrutinised at the time he said: “Yes, but the reality is, look at where we came from when I speak about this sector... we need to see where we came from.”
He recalled how when Evarist Bartolo was education minister he had tabled in Parliament a schedule showing that educators have progressed the least. Therefore, the sectoral agreement in 2018 was a step forward.
“Perfect? It is not, but we must build on it.”
“But yes as a government there's a commitment, and what we promised, we will do.”
Pressed about whether a “significant” increase meant that the salary scale was going to increase or the allowances were going to increase he did not say whether either of these were going to be implemented as discussions are ongoing.
He added that both the MUT and the government have the same goals and believe that improving the conditions of the teachers, through a salary increase, is the most important thing.
“We need to agree upon a formula, which together, achieves the results we want... A package that satisfies everyone.”
“Both sides have educators’ conditions in our hearts. At the end of the day, our children spend a large part of the day with these educators and our educational system is an incentive to offer the best tools for educators, so that they can support our children's development.”
Junior College entry requirements
In March 2022, it was announced that students applying for Junior College will no longer need three passes in the core subjects of Maltese, Mathematics and English.
Asked whether this was lowering the standard and whether this was done to reduce unemployment Grima said “to enter University, you always needed Maltese, Mathematics and English. These requirements are still there”.
He said that the University of Malta had approached the Ministry as they wanted to change the entry requirements to enter Junior College. He added that the Ministry agreed with the reasoning of the university at the time, that if you have a subject missing this should not ruin your opportunity to further your education, especially since you would still have to pass these compulsory subjects later.
“The most important thing, which was the first thing that I asked, for a person to enter University will they still need Maltese, Mathematics and English, and the response was yes.”
He did not agree that this lowers the standard, if anything this offers the “opportunity to have more people that reach the necessary standards so that they will be capable to enter University”.
He said that it was fair to bring up the topic of early school-leavers, but this has gone down by 10% over the last 10 years. He added that although Malta’s percentage of early school-leavers meets the European average when it comes to students who have graduated from university, Malta is above average.
Civic education for 16-year-olds voting
In 2018 the minimum age to vote during national and European Parliament elections was lowered to 16 after both sides of the House voted unanimously in favour of this amendment to the Constitution.
Grima was asked whether the government has considered including civic education in schools to help educate students about what being an active citizen in a democracy entails.
“Do you think that a 16-year-old is not capable of reasoning? Because I believe he is capable of reasoning, capable of evaluating.”
“Today, 16-year-old children have all the opportunity in the world to access information, whereas in my time we did not have.”
When pressed about whether implementing some form of civic education was on the government's agenda, he said that one of his mandates was to have experts working in this sector discussing the content that is being shared with students.
However, he continued by saying that because young people have access to so much information they should be capable of deciding whom they trust to run the country.
During the arraignment of two 16-year-old boys, who have been charged with assault in connection with a violent attack in Valletta last week that left a child’s leg broken, Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech said the existing criminal laws concerning minors require updating, after she said she will deliver a bail decree.
While 16-year-olds are allowed to get married, run for office and even vote in national elections, they are nevertheless considered as minors when it comes to criminality, she said.