The PN on Friday expressed "serious concern" over the number of teachers who resigned from their posts during the past academic year.

It urged the government to conduct a study to identify the recurring cause of resignations in the education sector.

In a statement referring to data revealed in a parliamentary answer by Education Minister Clifton Grima, 124 teachers resigned from state schools between 2023 and 2024.

Of these, only 26 remained in the profession by moving to private or Church schools.

Meanwhile, 74 and 43 fully qualified teachers were employed to teach in state secondary and primary schools respectively for this year.

Shadow minister for education Justin Schembri said that, while this amounted to 117 new fully qualified teachers, the government employed a total of 217 new teachers, confirming it was still employing a substantial number of supply teachers.

The government, he said, did not provide information on whether it employed teachers who were already in the profession but working in private or Church schools.

"It is clearly evident that despite the need for more fully qualified teachers at all levels, and despite the fact that a number of new teachers are graduating every year, the government is failing to retain a large number of teachers who are resigning each year.

"This is a worrying factor as the education sector cannot continue to lose professional teachers year after year due to continuous resignations," Schembri said.