MUT disappointed over Budget’s failure to address teachers’ needs

The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) expressed its disappointment at the 2016 Budget’s failure to address the urgent needs of educators in schools.

The union said it was expecting that these concerns, which emerged in recent studies conducted by both the MUT and government, would be a priority for the Labour administration.

“One such concern is the lack of necessary human resources support to cope with administrative and other bureaucratic aspects in schools,” the union said, adding that studies revealed more than 90% of Heads of Schools take up most of their time on endless bureaucratic tasks instead of carrying out curricular leadership at their schools.
It added that human resources are sorely needed in both Primary and Secondary schools. 

“While various graduate teachers are ending up unemployed or employed in areas for which they did not study, most teachers in both state and church schools are maxed out on loads.” 
Predicting that some schools will be hit by a crisis once winter sets in, the union said “the budget speech also fails to provide support of on call personnel for kindergartens and LSAs address, with the result that when there are kindergarten assistants and learning support assistants absent, children might have to be sent home.”

Meanwhile, the MUT welcomed a number of measures announced in the budget including the earlier screening of children so that special needs are identified and support provided at an early stage, the extension of sabbatical leave and the roll-out of the tablets project in 2016.

It also noted with satisfaction that “at last” new laptops will be provided to teachers, LSAs and Kindergarten Assistants in the coming months.

In regards to MCAST, while aknowledging the continual infrastructural upgrades, MUT said the budget failed to address an acute overpopulation problem at the institute of art and design which is over populated by 400 students.

“This overpopulation is causing huge problems in logistics and organisation but worse than this legal parameters in laboratories and workshops are not being respected, putting both lecturers and students at risk.”

With regards to the University of Malta, the MUT welcomed the developments on Quality Assurance which it said would inevitably increase the various aspects of quality of the institution.

The MUT also agrees with adding value to research by increasing administration assistance. Also, the stipends for mature students are a positive measure that will increase lifelong education.

The union added that it is “very disappointed” that government has increased the amount of pensionable years from 40 to 41.  “This is an indirect measure to increase pensionable age.”