Teachers dispute minister’s claim that co-ed was ‘not pilot project’

Teachers' union MUT has published correspondence with education minister Evarist Bartolo, contradicting his claims that a co-education class at the St Clare College in Pembroke was "not a pilot project".

The MUT recently pulled out of the steering committee on the government's plan for co-ed state secondary schools, claiming the reforms were being rushed in without enough consultation with teachers.

MUT president Kevin Bonello said that in April 2013 the MUT had received a letter from Bartolo informing the union about the plans to introduce co-education as a pilot project at St. Clare College. 

"The pilot project will involve all current Year 6 St Clare Primary students who will progress together to St Clare College, Secondary School, Pembroke (Sandhurst) in September 2013 as they enter for their first year of secondary schooling. The pilot project will be evaluated in June 2014 with the aim of further expansion at a national level," the letter published by the MUT reads.

In the letter, Bartolo introduces the proposal for a co-educational system and the middle school concept with reference to "a pilot project" St Clare College, Girls' Secondary, Pembroke (Sandhurst).

Bartolo recently played down the description of the co-ed system as a "pilot project".

"Pembroke was never a pilot project. We don't experiment with children," the minister said.

He has defended the implementation of co-ed in state schools, saying it will serve to improve the talent pool among students,

Government's decision to rollout co-ed in all state secondary schools as from the next scholastic year was met with concern by the MUT, which pulled out of the national co-ed committee insisting that government has taken a rushed decision.

The MUT claims that the committee's conclusions were being prejudiced due to the fact that the decision to proceed with co-education nationally has already been taken by the government.

The MUT said that the study commissioned by the Government to evaluate the pilot project was being rushed unnecessarily and will therefore not contain a proper assessment on the impact of the reform on students, educators and schools.

The MUT, although in favour of co-education, has expressed concern that not enough time was allowed to evaluate the pilot project before a definite decision was taken.

For the first time in state secondary schools, the government introduced the co-ed system at Pembroke as a pilot project. Education minister Evarist Bartolo initially said that after analysing the system, the Education Directorate would consider extending co-ed to other schools.

However, four months into the 2013/2014 scholastic year, schools have been informed that all Form 1s will be co-ed as from next September.

"We agree with co-education and we believe this is a step in the right direction. We agreed with a pilot project in order to build a model to follow and evaluate. Yet, even though this pilot project is not half way through, schools have been informed that all Form 1s will be co-ed," MUT president Kevin Bonello said.

Bonello pointed out that while teachers were still suffering from reform fatigue brought about by the previous administration, less than year after the election of a new government a substantial number of new reforms were already taking place.