Updated 11am, adds Secretariat for Catholic Education, Church Schools Association statement
Tension and anger are mounting among education staff who have not yet received vaccination appointments and their schools are demanding a clear timeline on the vaccine roll-out for their “forgotten” teachers.
De La Salle College, with nearly 300 staff members in its primary, secondary and Sixth Form sectors, including St Benild’s School, has not received any appointments yet, Stephen Cachia, director of Educational Mission, La Salle Malta, said.
“They cannot understand how vaccination appointments are now being given to government officials who work in offices and are able to telework while they seem to have been forgotten,” he remarked.
The situation is causing “unnecessary stress, anger and tension” among school staff who have direct contact with students.
While Stella Maris College, which is also under his remit, has started receiving vaccination invitations, Cachia is aware that other Church and independent schools are in the same situation as De La Salle.
“Schools are being asked to stay open and conduct lessons. They have done so and will continue doing so, as they always have the best interest of their students in mind,” Cachia said.
“All we are asking for is a clear timeline of when schools will be given these appointments.”
Teachers had been bumped up the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility list following a two-day strike in January amid government assurances that educators would be prioritised in an agreement to end the unsettling industrial action.
The plan was for educators to be vaccinated immediately after the elderly and vulnerable.
Last month, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced educators and other essential workers would start being administered the coronavirus vaccine between the end of February and the beginning of March.
Other school staff, apart from teachers, were also eligible for the vaccine, together with postal workers and national transport, energy and water provision employees.
Fearne had not provided details on how the programme would be rolled out but he had announced the move was two weeks ahead of schedule.
Asked for a timeline of the schoolteacher vaccine roll-out programme, the way schools were being prioritised and what percentage of their personnel had to date been inoculated, the health ministry did not answer.
The Malta Union of Teachers has acknowledged that, into the second week of March, not all educators have received the invitation for the vaccination.
Its president, Marco Bonnici, said this has been communicated to the health authorities.
Together with Church, state and independent schools, the union last week gave a list of those who have not yet started the vaccination process to the Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci.
While he pointed out that the logistics of the roll-out were the sole responsibility of the health ministry and that he had no information and statistics about who was being invited for the vaccine and the reasoning behind it, Bonnici said he was told the process was ongoing.
“Schools are in the process of being contacted in the coming days and weeks,” he said, adding that the MUT would continue to keep track of the situation.
'Resolve the issue immediately'
In a statement on Tuesday, the Secretariat for Catholic Education and the Church Schools Association called on the education and health ministries “to resolve this issue immediately” by issuing vaccination appointments for staff members who have not yet received the appointments.
They called
for greater urgency and a more balanced vaccination roll-out among staff in all schools.
As the country faces a serious increase in COVID-19 cases and schools are being asked to remain open to ensure the education of students, it is imperative that all staff members feel they are being given the support they deserve, they said.
“It is not acceptable to have a significant number of staff members in schools kept in the dark about when they will receive their vaccination appointments,” the two organisations said.