Tomorrow, the Malta Union of Teachers shall be organising a strike for all educators in State schools and in Church schools. The announcement was made a couple of weeks ago and attempts during the past weeks to reach an agreement on the financial increases of educators have failed. Besides the claims related to the workload of educators and the gap when compared to other professions, MUT is basing its claims for an improved financial package on the promises of the government to provide a substantial improvement in the salary and conditions of work of educators. Many things have been said regarding this promise and are well documented but less has been said about the request for improved financials beyond the promise.

A few years ago we had a situation where the decline in the birth rate in our country was being strongly felt, particularly in schools. I recall visiting a number of State primary schools whose population has been declining drastically, so much that there were plans on the Education Ministry’s table to merge a couple of schools, thus closing down schools in a number of localities. No politician has taken the decision most probably due to repercussions of the electorate in the affected district or locality. 

However this situation changed quite rapidly with the influx of foreign workers who started registering their students in schools. Within few years the overpopulation in schools started to be felt. The number of engaged educators could not grow at the same rate of the influx and hence educators started struggling to keep up with increased demands. The language and cultural barriers impacted the educational process significantly and all the teaching material which catered solely for Maltese speaking students had to be scrapped and redone by educators. Meanwhile two major reforms were also impacting educators: assessment and inclusion.

The shift from the summative assessment consisting of exams to ongoing formative assessment through the learning outcomes framework meant that the assessment process had to be overhauled. The new tie between teaching and assessment, shifting away from exams, implied that all the teaching methods had to be changed and with it all the teaching material. This process is still ongoing and is now reaching the later years of secondary schools. Meanwhile new pedagogies have been developed in the early years with a shift towards emergent teaching methods resulting in educators having to carry out extensive work on resources to meet the demands of the new approach.

The changes brought about by having inclusive schools have affected educators. Inclusion in the widest sense, which includes dedicated services for students with disabilities in all schools, was a major change which required educators to re-design their teaching process. The myriad of student abilities meant that educators had to develop educational programmes which cater for varying abilities, all in one class. Besides the individual educational programme of a number of students with disabilities or learning difficulties, there were multiple adaptations of the teaching process to cater for all student needs. The impact of inclusion on assessment led to the development of complicated access arrangements to large groups of students and this is still at its growth.

This was not all. New factors started impacting the work of educators. The teaching and learning process had to be widened to make up for societal changes. Kids started attending kindergarten school without having developed verbal abilities, without being able to sit down and carry out an activity, without being able to interact with peers, to eat, to drink or use the restroom without support. Students of all ages started joining school without having developed the pre-requisites to start formal schooling. It is a societal change whereby a holistic education is being expected from educators and is not always readily available at home.  Educators acting ‘in loco parentis’ took a new meaning.    

We can add technology, administrative work, reports, referrals, checklists, reviews, programmes, and an endless list of factors contributing to an educational system, which has become overwhelmed. Educators are caught in a system, which is not rewarding them for their efforts.

The above and much more is surely enough to expect that the government keeps its promise and provides improved conditions of work and financials to educators. MUT is at the forefront in achieving this and is renewing the call to all educators in State Schools and in Church Schools to act as one united front and follow the strike tomorrow.  

MUT shall protect all educators and personnel in schools who shall adhere with the strike action.

Marco Bonnici, President of the Malta Union of Teachers