Updated 3pm, adds PN comments
Education authorities, the Superintendent of Public Health and the Malta Union of Teachers are meeting on Friday to discuss the health guidelines being prepared for the reopening of schools in September.
Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the government has repeatedly said it planned to reopen schools on September 28.
Earlier this week, Education Minister Owen Bonnici said plans on the way pupils will return to schools in September will be published within the week.
Schools were shut for the rest of the scholastic year in March, when the first cases of coronavirus were first detected.
In a statement on Friday, the MUT said this was an important step for educators to have a clear picture of the situation.
It said that in view of the situation, the union would be holding a council meeting on Monday and others for members on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, meetings with the government and the respective authorities will continue for the union to give its reactions to the proposals being made.
It said it felt these days were crucial and it will be issuing its position after evaluating the situation both from a measures implementation point of view as well as from the number of positive cases and the transmission rate.
The union said it will be meeting experts and authorities, both national and European, and said the principles that should guide any decision remained the health and safety of educators and students.
The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) said earlier this week schools should remain closed until COVID-19 case numbers are drastically down.
UPE complains of being left out
In a statement later, the UPE said it had not been granted the possibility to voice its members' opinion.
"It is disconcerting to see how social dialogue is completely ignored by the ministry with a union which holds a good portion of the educational sector as members," it said.
It added that despite being promised, on several occasions, that the intervention of the UPE would be called upon, all such intentions fell into oblivion whenever decisions were taken.
With the health and livelihood of so many people at stake, the ministry should have ensured the involvement of all stakeholders, it said.
The UPE said it was is currently waiting for the government's list of protocols which it expected to see before publication on social media.
The government is not prepared - PN
The PN called on the government to provide educators, students and their parents some piece of mind about the reopening of the scholastic year.
"Let's do our utmost to reopen schools, however, we should not reopen schools at all costs," spokesperson Clyde Puli said during a press conference on Friday.
This requires a well-studied plan with implementation guidelines for each school, consultation with all stakeholders and the ability to control the pandemic, he added.
"To this date, it is clear that the government is not prepared," Puli said, urging against tarnishing the reputation of teachers.