Are chickens more important than educators at the School of Music? Read on to find out…

Teachers working at Mikiel Anton Vassalli College – Malta School Of Music report that the Centre Administrator is exceeding her authority. These are some of the issues:

1)  The Centre Administrator allegedly calls herself ‘Head of School’ as stated in a press release issued by the Times of Malta on the 21 February 2022. In case she is unaware such a title is only given to teachers with a pedagogical qualification and a teaching warrant. Does the Centre Administrator possess these qualifications? It must seem incongruent if you are a fully-qualified teacher holding a warrant and working at the School.  

2) The Centre Administrator is giving teachers administrative duties that do not form part of their responsibilities. These duties should be done by the competent persons within the Ministry and the Principal’s Office. 

3)  The Centre Administrator has made it clear in a recent news bulletin that official lines of communication regarding the School of Music should always go through the Centre Administrator. This includes any communication from staff members that needs to be made with the MAVC Head of College Network or members of his office. 

4)  The Centre Administrator appears to be intent on bypassing or ignoring her direct superiors. by controlling what the members of staff within the school can and cannot communicate. 

5)  The Centre Administrator observes lessons on a random basis without prior notification. Classroom observation is a perfectly accepted practice in education if the observer is a warranted educator. 

6)  The Centre Administrator is obliged to explain if there is justification in her capacity-building exercise. Full-time teachers are concerned about their light load as a number of part-timers have been employed by the school over the past few months. It is standard practice that full-time teachers need to be given a full load — when no more can be given, they are then passed on to part-timers.

In response to the anomalies and irregularities at the School, we expect immediate action from the Ministry: 

Firstly, the Centre Administrator’s behaviour and instructions  to communicate through her must be reprimanded with disciplinary action by the Principal’s office. All members of staff have the right to communicate directly with the MAVC Head of College Network or members of his office.

Secondly, the UPE  urges the Ministry to investigate the capacity-building exercise carried out by the Centre Administrator. 

For the above reasons the Union has issued a trade dispute and will be putting in place several directives to safeguard its members at the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College – Malta School Of Music.

Teachers who are members of the UPE working at Mikiel Anton Vassalli College – Malta School Of Music are not to undertake any administrative duties but are to continue teaching as per engagement contract. 

Teachers who are  members of the UPE working at Mikiel Anton Vassalli College – Malta School Of Music are not to accept classroom visits by the Centre Administrator. 

Teachers who are members of the UPE working at Mikiel Anton Vassalli College – Malta School Of Music are not communicate directly in writing, virtually or face-to-face with the Centre Administrator, but are to liaise directly with the College Principal. 

These directives are to be followed with immediate effect. 

Oh, yes. The answer to the question…the chickens run happily in the school’s gardens since they are cared for in a better way than the school’s staff!

We invite the unhappy educators of this school to communicate with us if they have any queries on 99946582 or 21221252/6/8, or via email info@upe.mt