Educators From Four Maltese Schools Test Positive For COVID-19 As Union Demands Online Learning
Seven educators from four different schools have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days, prompting a fresh call from the Union of Professional Educators to shift everything back to online learning.
Today’s COVID-19 bulletin confirmed that seven educators, as well as one student, have tested positive for the virus and Lovin Malta is informed that four schools have been affected.
In light of this, the UPE, Malta’s minority teachers’ union, said it is amazed that the Education Ministry hasn’t moved schools back online yet and urged it do so “while educators are still healthy and available”.
“If things continue as is, with numbers of educators already worryingly low, and with patchwork solutions being put in place to conceal the fact from the general public, the certainty that teachers are falling ill, and will continue falling ill, will only lead to one disastrous conclusion,” UPE executive head Graham Sansone said.
“Schools will inevitably close and there will not be enough educators to cater for the online learning we are proposing to have in place now.”
Meanwhile, the Malta Union of Teachers warned that the government wasn’t prepared to reopen school and that it doesn’t have a clear and consistent policy regarding information about positive cases in school.
“This is leading to speculation, with online media flooded with posts reporting positive cases in schools,” it said. “The MUT, as a point of principle and as a professional organisation, shall not join this charade of speculation. However, it expects the government to have its communication procedures in place to inform affected educators, students and parents and to ensure that measures are taken.”
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