Prime Minister Robert Abela and Education Minister Clifton Grima have created a crisis in the education sector, "and they don't know how to solve it," the Nationalist Party has said.

The PN said that it was Prime Minister Robert Abela who, prior to the 2022 election, "euphorically pledged a significant increase in wages and improvement in working conditions of all educators, but now that the time has come to conclude the sectoral agreement with the MUT, is going back on his word, and doesn't want to give the increases he promised after a year of negotiating."

The lack of willingness and commitment by the government to negotiate the financial package promised to educators of State and Church schools is today leading to a crisis in the education sector, that is stagnated as the MUT had no other choice but to issue a number of directives after the government again presented a financial package that does not meet the expectations of the union."

The PN took note that the directives also include a strike planned for Monday. "This is occurring to the detriment of thousands of students who the government is dangling in the middle of the dispute that it caused as it is not really interested in improving educators' wages and conditions."

Thanks to the government, the PN said, "today we have children whose right to learn and be given feedback for their work is being broken, while those with particular learning needs are falling back as hundreds of scheduled IEPs are being lost."

The PN said it is disappointed that the government, instead of looking for an immediate solution, chose the threatening road, "that it is not ready to negotiate with the union if the directives aren't withdrawn. This is the arrogant attitude of a government that pretends to have the right over unions."

It called on the government to withdraw this thread, "so that this crisis can be resolved quickly and educators be given the salaries they deserve."

The PN said that the government, "if it is truly convinced about the financial package it offered educators, must publish the increases it has proposed. If it remains silent, then it would only confirm that the government is not comfortable in saying what increase it is offering educators."

It said that the PN continues to believe in educators and gave them backing "in this delicate moment."

The Education Ministry responded to the PN’s statement, and said that the Opposition is again choosing to be partisan, “which contributes nothing to the country at a time like this.”

“This is not the first time that this is happening, so much so that the same Opposition spokesperson had already shot out untrue statistics in public.”

“Out of respect to the negotiation process, the strong proposals by the government were made to the union. That is why while the government remains open to negotiations, these cannot happen during industrial actions. Above all the government put forward a proposal at the negotiating table that reflects what was promised with substantial increases for teachers and that is why it feels that the suffering of children through these actions is not justified.”