WATCH: Teachers’ Union Head Insists Maltese Schools Must Go Online Until Easter Holidays: ‘We’re Not Supernatural’
Graham Sansone, the head of the Union of Professional Educators, has urged the government to move schools online until at least the end of the upcoming Easter holidays.
Sansone referred to statistics published by Health Minister Chris Fearne on 15th February which show there were 2,227 COVID-19 cases among educators, students, and school staff since the start of October, an average of 111 cases a week.
“These numbers dismiss [Superintendent of Public Health] Charmaine Gauci and [statistician] Vince Marmara’s statement that cases will drop once schools reopen,” he said. “It’s shocking that this statement was even issued and we’re now witnessing record cases in schools and the nation.”
“The numbers show the UPE was right in calling for online teaching… we’ve grown sick of saying this and it’s now up to politicians and the Superintendent of Public Health to evaluate the situation and take decisions in the national interest.”
Noting that the government has issued a directive to public sector employees to work from home where possible, Sansone questioned why the same principle isn’t being applied to educators.
“Wonder of wonders, educators must go to work. It’s absurd because, as every parent and teacher knows, classes went online at some point during the year.”
“Educators can work online. We’re in favour of physical learning but during these extraordinary circumstances we must think about how to contain the spread of COVID-19.”
Sansone warned some schools are operating on a ‘management by crisis’ mode, with teacher shortages becoming a persistent problem due to educators getting infected with COVID-19, placed in mandatory quarantine, and contracting other illnesses.
He dismissed the bubble concept being applied in schools as a bubble, arguing that “bubbles are being popped everyday”.
“Children are placed in a Breakfast Club bubble and then go to class in another bubble. The bubble concept isn’t being taken seriously and we’re witnessing this huge problem on a daily basis.”
He said protocols should be stricter given the prevalence of the UK variant of the coronavirus in Malta, which Charmaine Gauci has noted is infecting more children than the original strain.
“I have my doubts on whether the health authorities truly know what’s happening in schools. They’re limiting private gatherings to four households but educators can have anything between 20 and 100 bubbles in their classrooms. It’s as though educators are supernatural beings.”
He also questioned why contact sports have been banned among school-age children but no new restrictions have been announced limiting the activities children can get up to during break time.
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