Teachers fear the syllabi for applied core subjects which were to be rolled out in the upcoming scholastic year are “out of touch” with students’ abilities.
According to the Malta Union of Teachers, many educators are concerned that the syllabi for the four subjects - Maths, English, Maltese and Science - went “much further” than their students’ abilities.
The Sunday Times of Malta reported last week that the introduction of applied versions of the four core subjects would likely not take place at the start of the upcoming scholastic year as planned because the education authorities are still grappling with implementing the proposed changes to the system.
Contacted for a reaction, the teachers’ union said it had been flagging the situation with the government for “many months” and was therefore “not surprised” about the turn of events.
“This clearly shows that this type of decision-making by the authorities, where they just impose the way forward, does not work,” MUT president Marco Bonnici said.
The union head pointed out there was “no involvement of concerned parties”, adding that while the MUT was always up for discussion, there had not been any further meetings on that matter.
In a major shift of the education system as part of efforts to steer away from a purely academic approach, State school students in Year 9 (formerly known as Form 3) will be able to follow more hands-on versions of certain subjects from the upcoming scholastic year.
The change will see the introduction of nine new applied subjects.
When the revamp to the system was announced earlier this year, the education authorities said students would be able to also take up applied versions of the core subjects, however, it would be the schools that directed them on whether they should study these versions or not.
According to sources, the uptake of these four subjects was very low, prompting the education authorities to rethink rolling them out in September.
Several attempts to contact the Education Ministry on the matter have proved futile.