Updated: After complaint, MUT invited to be part of post-Covid-19 education think tank
The Malta Union of Teachers has been invited to join a post-Covid-19 think tank set up by the Education Ministry after it complained that educators had been left out.
The think-tank, he said, would be made of a group of seven experts and professionals.
These include physician and psychologist Edward Debono, renowned architect Richard England, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Frank Fabri, Institute for Education CEO Joanne Grima, professor Julianne Grima, former MCAST president Frederick Schembri and Malta Chamber president David Xuereb.
The think-tank must finalise a report no later than September; therefore the group of experts have four months to present a report which will be key to the way forward for the education of the future, Bonnici said
The Malta Union of Teachers immediately said it would not recognise the think tank, saying the group did not represent the experience that teachers offer.
“Teachers are experts in this field, and one cannot have an analysis of the situation without their input. This think tank was being formed behind the backs of everyone, including MUT and other partners,” the union said.
The Nationalist Party also accused Bonnici of being disrespectful to teachers.
In a statement on Thursday, MUT said it has now been invited to take part in the think tank.
It said it will be sending a representative but said it still has a problem with the people chosen by the ministry who, it said, did not represent the education sector.
MUT said it will be establishing its own working group with people who have classroom experience and who are interested in contributing to the discussion on the future of education. A call for members to join this working group will be issued in the coming days.
The working group’s chairperson will also be the MUT’s representative on the government think tank.
The union said it is ready to collaborate with other professionals but it will reserve its right to take action if any proposals could negatively affect its members.
Education Ministry replies:
The Ministry for Education and Employment welcomed MUT’s agreement to have a representative on the think-tank. The ministry also welcomed the establishment within MUT of a working group made up of teachers with classroom experience which will be also contributing to the Ministry’s think-tank.
It has to be clarified that the composition of the think-tank as announced yesterday includes two members who are teachers by profession, with years of experience in various levels of the educational sector. At the same time, the Ministry listened to and acted upon feedback which was put forward on the need to have due representation of teachers who teach everyday in the classroom.
As was stated yesterday, the think-tank will be doing various consultations with stakeholders in the sector and beyond during the whole process.
The think-tank will be also including Dr Colin Calleja from the Faculty of Education, University of Malta. The Government would like to thank again all the members of the think-tank for accepting to form part of this project.
The aim of the think-tank is to provide an opportunity for discussion, reflection and ideas on the education of the future in the light of COVID-19 and beyond in order to be able, as a country, to turn tomorrow’s challenges into opportunities.
PN statement
The PN, in reaction, said that the ministry changing track and including a member from the MUT shows just how the think tank was established without a plan. The PN argued that things were not done well from the beginning, and also said that despite the inclusion of the MUT, the think tank remains unbalanced due to the small number of professional teachers included.
Source: Independent Malta Updated: After complaint, MUT invited to be part of post-Covid-19 education think tank
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