The Malta Union of Teachers is today presenting feedback to the Education Act as part of the ongoing consultation process on reform being proposed by the Ministry for Education and Employment.

The document being presented by the Union contains eleven main points, and emphasises the need for clearer distinction between political administration and professional expertise. Especially with regards to the Council for the Teaching Profession, the Union disagrees that the Minister should have the final say on whether one should be awarded a warrant or otherwise.

Speaking during a press conference at the Union’s Institute in Valletta, MUT President Kevin Bonello stated that “the Union believes that the Ministry should be represented in the Council for the Teaching Profession but should participate at that level only. The final decision should then be taken by the professional council.”

Other feedback in the document includes that pedagogical training should be obligatory, a proposal for a new three tier warranting system to provide licenses for all educators working with children and students at all levels, feedback on the composition of the Council for the Teaching Profession and a proposal for the creation of sub-councils, empowerment for the same Council including enough resources to function properly, and other comments related to discipline in schools and harsher penalties for child neglect and abuse.

The full document is being made public and can be downloaded from the MUT website at www.mut.org.mt.

Meanwhile the Union, through its Education Committee, is launching a campaign on the theme of Cyber Bullying. This will be carried out through electronic communication with the use of the Union’s website, social networks and email.

In order to reach this aim, an audiovisual production has been created that includes the main message, which is to create awareness about this relatively new reality that educators are facing continuously at their workplace. Apart from the video, a document was created with more detailed information on this topic.

During the launch, MUT Senior Vice President Marco Bonnici stated that “as everyone is by now aware, cyber bullying is unfortunately part of the online world, and as educators we have the responsibility to act professionally not just at the workplace but also throughout all electronic communication with pupils, parents and other stakeholders. However many educators might end up victims of bullying – and the Union is aware of such cases – and this awareness campaign intends to address many instances which could be prevented with caution and diligence”.

This is the fourth educational online campaign after “The Malta Union of Teachers,” “United against abuse” and “Appreciating educators.” The direct link to the new campaign video is the following: http://youtu.be/PESAnGOzhK0.

The campaign videos can be watched at link http://www.youtube.com/MUTcampaigns.

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