On Tuesday 8 February the Faculty of Education held a meeting with the Minister for Education, the Honourable Dr Clifton Grima. The initial part of the meeting was held with the Heads of Department where among other things the proliferation of courses for Initial Teacher Education was discussed.
The HODs expressed their concern at the level of some courses being provided by other institutions, and the need for quality assurance to ensure that teachers in their initial stage of their career attain the required competences. The need to strengthen the teaching profession was also highlighted, by embarking on a national campaign to attract more people to teaching, and improving the conditions of work and pay package of teachers. It was also stressed that the profession needs teachers to remain attracted to teaching and a recognition system can help award seniority and retain experienced teachers in the classroom.
The Minister was also informed of the Faculty's proposal for the induction of Newly Qualified Teachers, since the first two years in a teacher's career are crucial to help teachers strengthen their skills and build further competences. The need for a holistic education was also mentioned and subjects like Physical Education and Home Economics should not be sidelined in times of crisis. Finally, the HODs also stressed the need for the new legislation to be implemented as this will give a clearer direction of the qualification requirements for educators.
The second part of the meeting was characterised by a wider discussion with the rest of the Faculty. A number of important points were made, namely on the amount of students who had difficulties to engage in learning during the pandemic and the Faculty's recommendations in this regard. The systemic losses within the system was also mentioned, particularly with students who are considered as needing additional support and are withdrawn from class, with the risk of them not following the curriculum they are entitled to. Other members of staff mentioned areas of concern regarding specific subject areas, like foreign languages and the arts, and also on the need to evaluate the implementation of the National Curriculum Framework and the Learning Outcomes Framework.
The Faculty augurs that this healthy debate would be the continuation of collaboration with the Ministry and the Directorates for Education, and the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Colin Calleja concluded this meeting by enlisting a number of research areas where various members of the Faculty can give their input.
