WATCH: Maltese Teachers Union Urges For Schools To Reopen Gradually To Avoid Virus Outbreaks
Malta’s Union of Professional Educators (UPE) has urged for schools to reopen in a gradually to mitigate any possible virus outbreaks as students return from their festive holidays.
In a public video, UPE executive head Graham Sansone appealed to Education Minister Justyne Caruana to ensure schools reopen as they did at the start of the scholastic year under her predecessor Owen Bonnici.
“We believe this is the most logical thing to do to help keep the virus under control,” Sansone said. “We hope that you understand the difficult nature of this situation for teachers, parents and students too.”
Active cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Malta. Today saw the highest daily rise of cases since November, with 158 new patients discovered. The virus death toll also rose by four to 226.
Amid rising numbers, the union previously threatened to order a strike to pressure the government to close schools and return to online lessons. The Education Ministry, however, said it didn’t recognise the UPE’s directives because it doesn’t enjoy legal recognition over Malta’s teaching sector.
All schools reopened in October, eight months after they closed their doors due to COVID-19. They reopened in a mixture of online and offline learning as well as masks, and social distancing rules for students and teachers. They are expected to reopen again by the end of this week.
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