The Ministry of Education this evening announced its plans to introduce courses in vocational subjects in secondary schools.

It was reacting to a statement by the Malta Union of Teachers which complained of secrecy and a lack of consultation with it.

The union said that this fait accompli first became evident last May 13 when its officials were invited for a meeting with the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education without being told what was to be discussed.

Also present for the meeting were representatives of Church and private schools and Eddie O'Connor, representing a UK agency which provides vocational courses and exams.

The union officials immediately protested over the lack of consultation.

Officials of the directorate denied the MUT officials' claims and said that talks were to be held with the union on the vocational subjects, the date of their introduction, and any impact on teachers' working conditions.

Yet last Wednesday, during the presentation of warrants to teachers, the Minister of Education officially announced the introduction of these subjects in secondary schools, in the presence of MUT officials.

"The Malta Union of Teachers condemns in the strongest possible terms, the Minister of Education and the Directorate's officials, who think they can take for a ride the union which represents the vast majority of teachers. They tried to keep everything under wraps, and then they get offended when they are criticised for their lack of social dialogue in education," the union said.

The union insisted it should be involved in this process and warned that undue haste could lead to wrong decisions.

It also warned that it would not tolerate any undermining of teachers' working conditions.

MINISTRY'S REACTION

The Ministry of Education in a reaction said that during the scholastic year which was just ending, it started exploring the possibility of introducing vocational subjects as an option to Form 3 students in secondary schools alongside the other subject options.

After evaluating the local situation with the MATSEC Examination Board, the Malta Qualifications Council, the University, the Malta Council for Arts, Science and Technology, the Institute of Tourism Studies, representatives of the Church and Independent sectors and officials from the Education directorates, discussions commenced with EDEXCEL regarding the introduction of BTEC in secondary schools.

BTEC programmes enjoy recognition on the European Qualifications Framework.

A request was made to the Malta Qualifications Council for these vocational subjects to be certified on Level 3 on completion of the course and Level 2 on partial completion of the course.

The Senate of the University of Malta was requested to certify the equivalency of these vocational subjects to SEC certification, and they may thus may be offered as part of the six subject requirements for the MATSEC course in post-secondary institutions.

The MCAST Board was invited to certify the vocational subjects as part of the progression path of students to MCAST courses while the ITS Board was similarly invited to certify as part of the progression path of students to ITS courses.

Decisions by the different institutions are to be completed by October 2010.

In the first four months of 2010, a draft plan on piloting four vocational subjects in a number of state and non-state colleges/schools to start in scholastic year 2011/2012 was drawn up. To this end, on May 13 the Ministry called a meeting with MUT officials to exchange detailed information on this project.

Once the meeting progressed, the MUT representatives indicated that they were in favour of the introduction of vocational education at secondary level but complained that the pilot plan seemed a fait accompli. At this meeting, the MUT was given 'reassuring information' about the plan, the ministry said.

At this point the schools to carry out this pilot project had not been chosen The MUT was also informed that during the pilot study there would be ongoing discussions with the union and with all other stakeholders.

Final decisions on the choice of schools were taken last Friday following consultations with the state and non state education authorities.

The pilot project is planned to take place over two scholastic years: 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Four vocational subject areas - Engineering, Hospitality, IT Practitioner, and Health and Social Care are to be proposed in a number of state and non-state schools as from September 2011.

It was decided to pilot one subject in every secondary school in the state sector which is no longer either a Junior Lyceum or an Area Secondary.

The courses will be offered as follows:

Gozo College Boys’ Secondary – Engineering; Gozo College Girls’ Secondary – Health and Social Care; Maria Regina Boys’ Secondary School - Hospitality; St Benedict’s College Boys Secondary – I.T;. St Ignatius College Boys’ Secondary – Engineerin;g St Margaret’s College Boys’ Secondary – Hospitality.

It was also agreed that the non-state sector would pilot the 4 subjects. Following an expression of interest and the readiness exercise, the following schools were chosen St Dorothy’s School, Zebbug – Hospitality Stella Maris College, Gzira - Engineering St Edwards College, Cospicua – I.T. San Anton School, Mselliet – Health and Social Care.

The registration for each subject for the three year certification course amounts to £Stg110. Social cases will be exempted from this fee as in the case of SEC examinations.

Selection of teachers

Following consultations with state and non-state school sectors it was agreed by consensus that teachers would be recruited at school level from related subjects.

In September 2011, two teachers from each participating school will take part in a 10 day training/readiness programme between February and May 2011. The training will include one week in the UK.

Moreover, the teachers participating in the project will be offered the opportunity to read for a Diploma in Vocational Education and Verification, on a voluntary basis during those two years.