MUT directive 'creating tension for parents, students'

The education ministry yesterday accused the Malta Union of Teachers of taking illegitimate and unjust action, and going against professional values when it called action hitting students' exams in an industrial dispute with the government.

On June 12, the MUT directed all teaching grades not to enter marks on exam scripts and not to hand in the results to the school administration or any other official.

This means students may remain unclassified for the next scholastic year.

The action followed lack of progress in two issues: a new collective agreement for government teachers and the recruitment of facilitators.

In a statement, the ministry said the MUT council should shoulder the responsibility for its decision and not try to pass responsibility on to the division or ministry.

The education division, the ministry said, was taking the necessary steps to mitigate the negative impact of the MUT directive. Parents and students had a right to know the results obtained in examinations.

The MUT directive was creating unnecessary tension for parents and students at the beginning of their period of rest, the ministry added.

It said it had always been the duty of teachers to correct examination papers and pass the results on to heads of school, and there was no industrial issue here.

The ministry said that yet again, the MUT council had given its members a directive when talks were still open. The council could not expect talks to continue as if such directives, which primarily affected students, had never been given.

The council knew that no one had ever respected the teachers' class as much as this government.

In industrial issues and negotiations, the government and the ministry had always shown comprehension and prudence, the ministry said.