A stronger future starts with our educators

On World Teachers’ Day, Momentum salutes the educators and school management teams of Malta and Gozo. As a new school year begins, teachers are once again opening our classrooms so our children can thrive. They treat education as both a profession and a calling, as learners need a teacher who knows them, guides them and believes in them to learn holistically and become responsible and active members of society.

We note that over the last ten years, the pressures on the education system have been increasing rapidly. Malta’s population has grown by about 140,000, or 31%, mainly through net migration that continues today. Schools were never given the means to keep up. For example, classes are becoming oversized, with 24 five- and six-year-olds having just one teacher without an assistant. Some children are arriving in class unable to communicate in either Maltese or English.

Educators are stretched, under pressure, with many increasingly fearing that they chose the wrong career. Burnout is the result. This cannot go on. Why is net migration still rising when schools cannot absorb current demand? Momentum calls on the Government to:

• Publish a time-bound plan balancing population growth with school capacity.
• Recruit and retain staff, cap early-years class sizes and guarantee learning support assistants.

Today is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education, but also to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession globally. Their dedication is holding our schools together.

Katya Compagno, executive member of Momentum, said, “With the right investment, that dedication can become a system worthy of it. Teaching requires far more work behind the scenes than what many people actually see, but we encourage young people who are considering teaching as a career to continue, as it is a rewarding career, because our students make us proud and worth every effort.”

There is hope, you can help!

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