Primary schools students across Malta have been left without a class teacher, some since the start of the scholastic year. 

Numerous parents and educators reached out to Lovin Malta over the worrying lack of teachers inside the classroom, with young students currently receiving a haphazard education that sees different individuals plug the massive holes in their schools, in some cases even headmasters have had to step in. 

Sources told Lovin Malta that there are anywhere between 400 and 600 students who have been left without a class teacher. The issue, it appears, is only affecting state schools around the country. 

Parents have complained that the Education Ministry is washing its hands clean of the problem, choosing to pin the blame on unions rather than addressing the issue. Lovin Malta has seen various messages from Minister Justyne Caruana addressing the concerns with a one-sentence reply:

“Teachers are obeying union directives and are refusing to take classes.”

However, both parents and educators have rubbished Caruana’s stance, with many raising concerns that the minister was so ready to throw teachers under the bus amid the dispute. 

Before the start of summer, both teachers’ unions, MUT and UPE, raised concerns to the ministry that some primary school teachers do not actually have the necessary requirements to teach young students – and instead have their expertise based on subjects like drama, PE, and art. 

This, they’ve said, is unacceptable, particularly given the rapid changes to the education curriculum and that it fails to ensure that Maltese youths are receiving proper education, as outlined in the constitution. 

It should also be noted that Malta’s education system, despite being free, fails to deliver, with around 35% leaving school before even completing secondary school. 

Many, including Finance Minister Clyde Caruana, have raised concerns that maybe not enough is being done to foster the right educational environment at a young age to ensure lifelong learning.

“We cannot lose them young,” Caruana said in a recent interview with Lovin Malta. 

Still, the Education Ministry has seemingly failed to bring in enough resources to cover the shortage over the summer break, leaving students missing out on actual lessons, just as they’ve returned to physical learning following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In conversations, Caruana insisted that teachers had been assigned to the roles. However, many are still actually trained to teach drama and other similar subjects rather than arithmetic and language for example. 

Sources raised concerns that there is no end in sight for the dispute, with the ministry allegedly digging its heels in the sand over the issue. 

It seems that unless something is addressed, Malta’s primary school classes will remain without teachers. 

Lovin Malta has sent a request for urgent comment by the Education Ministry. 

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