The UPE understands that the new administration at the Ministry of Education and Sport needs time to settle in and find its bearings. After all, it has to deal with the extensive mess the educational system is in and the years of Frank Fabri’s (mis)rule of chaos and industrial malfunction.
Following the recent revelations at the Ministry, we have listed our demands to be addressed as soon as possible in order to ameliorate the state of affairs.
- The Principal Permanent Secretary should not hesitate to remove immediately Dr. Fabri from the position of Permanent Secretary pending possible criminal investigations on account of the signing of the Bogdanovic contract.
- The Hon. Minister and his team have already started to restore positive industrial relations. One of their priorities must be to acknowledge the findings of the Ombudsman’s report wherein the Ministry was found guilty of breaching the UPE’s legitimate right to access schools. It should follow that our legitimate right is restored without any further delay.
- The Hon. Minister needs to communicate to the MUT that it is not the only union stakeholder within the educational sector. It is of utmost importance that the UPE is represented in every working group established by the Ministry of Education and Sport. Failure to do so will potentially increase disagreement from the UPE as it would not have been part of the mentioned discussions. This can only lead to further discord and industrial action.
- The UPE believes that the optimal form of education for all our students is in school. However, the Union has made it clear to the Ministry that the option to open simultaneously the Virtual School thus enabling the shielding of vulnerable students and educators must be part of the way forward at this point.
- A one-day delay in physical schooling is not adequate during the current surge of Covid cases. Therefore, the UPE proposes that the physical reopening of schools will occur when the numbers are stable. The large number of staff members in quarantine will not permit the normal functioning of daily activities in schools.
Education Minister Hon Grima has shown the Union that he is actively engaged in improving the educational sector during this challenging time.
The UPE will continue to ensure that there is an open means of communication to safeguard its members.
Members of the UPE who require shielding are to email us directly at info@upe.mt or contact us on 99946582.