Opposition Leader Adrian Delia Raises Spectre Of Pakistani And Bangladeshi Teachers
Opposition leader Adrian Delia has questioned whether the government intends to rope in teachers from Pakistan and Bangladesh in a speech held in the wake of a standoff between the government and the Malta Teachers’ Union (MUT).
“Why doesn’t the government care about teachers, the guardians of our future?” Delia asked. “The government is treating teachers with a lack of respect, just as it is doing with bus drivers. Will it do like it did with public transport and bring in 300 teachers from Pakistan or Bangladesh? Is that how our children are going to end up?”
The Labour Party accused Delia of lying and of using “racist” language as a result of his own political desperation.
“It is clear that he has abandoned Christian Democrat values and that he feels more comfortable with the far-right,” the PL said.
The MUT had originally planned a strike for next Monday, largely due to concerns that three proposed education bills would empower the Teachers’ Council to revoke warrants from teachers who repeatedly fail to undergo the required professional training.
The strike was eventually called off after the government withdrew the bills ahead of further consultation with the MUT.
Although the Education Ministry only gets to appoint four people out of the Council’s 14 members, Delia warned the government wants to “take control” over the education sector.
“The government wants to hold the key to teachers’ warrants, it wants to decide which teachers will get a warrant and which ones won’t,” Delia said. “If teachers want to go on strike, then the government will do as it had in the past and threaten to shut them up by using their warrants as leverage.”
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