Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478015
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 8 INTERVIEW If government values teachers, it should There has been a lot of discus- sion recently about the state of education in Malta: partly, in response to recent Eurobarom- eter surveys, which indicate a mismatch in academic perfor- mance between State and pri- vate schools. You have contrib- uted through a number of press articles: most of which, howev- er, focus on much more specif- ic, 'ground-level' problems'… including 'staff shortages', 'sat- uration', and 'mobility'. Would I be right, then, in concluding that the Malta Union of Teach- ers is impatient, with a discus- sion that seems to ignore the real issues faced by teachers on a daily basis? Let me start by saying that there are always going to be two fundamental aspects, to any discussion about education. On one hand, there is the phil- osophical aspect: which is con- cerned with 'how we should be assisting students, to reach their full potential'. On the other hand, there's the purely practical dimension… which basically asks the ques- tion, 'do we have the resources to be able reach that target, in the first place'? So yes: it is true that, when we discuss 'education', there is often a tendency to look a little more at the 'philosophical' side of things, than at the concrete practical- ities on the ground. And what we often end up saying, as a un- ion, is that: 'Yes, that is all very important, BUT… to reach that position, you have to first make sure that there is enough man- power, on the ground. And right now… there isn't, quite frankly.' Having said this, though: while I agree that that is very often the case, in Malta… it doesn't nec- essarily apply to the discussion you alluded to in your question. These two issues [i.e., the dis- parity between State and private schools; and the practical short- comings of the profession] both emerged separately… So your recent articles were not in response to, say, the one written by Prof. Ronald Sultana in the Times last June, under the headline: 'Educational apartheid in Malta'? No, not at all. Even because – when we do officially respond to such issues, as a union – we are usually much more direct in our replies. And we don't hold back from responding, either. On countless occasions, we have felt the need to officially 'respond' to such statements; but no, this wasn't one of them. If I was referring to anything at all, it was to another press interview – published before the Sultana article – which, for a change, actually focused on the issue of staff shortages in schools. And I felt it was impor- tant to expand on this topic fur- ther; because, as I was saying be- fore, there is a tendency to talk about the 'educational sector' – and the problems it is facing – as though the sector itself was somehow 'homogenous'. But it isn't. If we're going to split up the education sector, and look at its component parts: we would have to start with childcare, which is the basis on which we are try- ing to build its foundations. We have first to look at kindergar- ten; then primary; then second- ary… before moving on up to post-secondary, and tertiary. Now: the exigencies of each individual segment are all very different. If you ask, me for in- stance, about 'staff shortages' in kindergarten… I would tell you that 'there aren't any'. In fact, the problem at kindergarten lev- el is the very opposite: there are qualified, graduated candidates who can't find a job…. That, I presume, is what you meant by 'saturation'… Precisely. If we look at the sit- uation in post-secondary, on the other hand: here, the problem is different; and it probably has more to do with a lack of 'tech- nical' people – that is to say, people who are academically qualified enough, to fill certain 'technical' vacancies – than with 'staff shortages', as such. In fact, there is no real 'short- age' in this segment at all. When- ever there are calls for teaching positions in post-secondary, or tertiary education… there will always be tens of applications, for every vacancy. The problem, very often, is that the candidates' qualifications will not match the specific skills-set, that is re- quired for that particular posi- tion. It's an academic mismatch, at the end of the day. There are certain vocational subjects, that simply do not attract as many students as others… By exclusion, that leaves us with the sectors which ARE cur- rently facing staff shortages: a problem which – as you argued in a previous article – can on- ly be addressed by "a strategy that increases respect: because one of the things that we've lost in this sector is respect for the profession". Could you elabo- rate on that? Are teachers real- ly abandoning their own voca- tions… because they don't feel respected enough? There are various factors af- fecting the teacher shortage, right now. The lack of respect is certainly one of them – and I'll come back to it shortly – but again: we have to also look at the practical issues, on the ground. In the article you've been quot- ing, I mentioned another area which needs urgent attention: 'mobility'. Because another thing that we tend to forget, when dis- cussing education, is that the sector itself does not exist 'in a vacuum'. It also exists in compe- tition with all other sectors. In fact, one thing we've been pushing for – and we're moving in that direction; though we ha- ven't got there, yet – is the possi- bility of recruiting people, from other professions, to take up a career in teaching. There may be people, out there, who are – for argument's sake – 'tired' of their present employment; and given the right incentives, and train- ing, these people may be enticed to join our own profession, as teachers. Now: is this happening? Yes… but not quickly enough. Unfor- tunately, however: much more often, it tends to happen the other way round. Nowadays, the private [non-educational] sector is managing to attract a lot of people away from the teaching profession, just by offering bet- ter salaries and financial pack- ages. Take the case of an Informa- tion Technology teacher, for in- stance; who is approached by a private company, to work as an IT technician, or consultant, etc. The chances are that the teacher will, in fact, take up the offer. Be- cause the education sector, with its current salary structure, can- not realistically compete, with MUT president MARCO BONNICI warns that the education sector should brace itself for more staff shortages, in future… if government continues to foster a 'culture of disrespect', towards the teaching profession Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt