Children have a right to education and should never be used as pawns, the association representing parents of students attending State schools said.
MAPSSS voiced the frustration and concerns of many parents, who received conflicting messages since the Malta Union of Teachers ordered a two-day strike because of rising COVID-19 cases.
The association said parents were concerned about their children missing on education, an increase in COVID-19 cases and mixed messages by the authorities.
“In view of the record number of new COVID-19 cases announced yesterday, and the admission by the health authorities that they are expecting a spike of cases in the coming days, MAPSSS believes that State, independent and Church should be adopting the same strategy as was done between March and June last year,” it said, adding that the health of all students, their educators and their families remain a priority, irrespective of which school sector they attend.
Chamber of Commerce says schools must remain open
The Malta Chamber of Commerce backs calls by health authorities that the return to schools following Christmas recess is safe
7 January 2021, 6:09pm
by Karl Azzopardi
The Malta Chamber of Commerce has insisted schools should remain open and be the last to close.
The chamber’s statement follows a nation-wide strike ordered for Thursday and Friday by the Malta Union of Teachers.
“The experience of the first term has proved that schools are well equipped to implement social distancing, and the educational experience was a success,” the chamber said.
It also backed statements by Public Health Authorities who said that there is no scientific-based evidence which show schools should remain closed.
Parents' reactions to the school strike ordered by the Malta Union of Teachers have ranged from anger at the union to blaming the government's inaction as COVID-19 cases spike and the lax attitude adopted by some during the holidays
2021-01-07 13:35:30 GMT2021-01-07 21:35:30(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
VALLETTA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) Teachers in Maltese state schools refused to turn up for work on Thursday after the government rejected their request to allow remote teaching and learning to counter COVID-19 fears.
The two-day strike, covering Thursday and Friday, was ordered by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) following the collapse of Wednesday late-night talks with the government, which refused teachers request to hold online lessons.
The request was made on the eve of children s return to school after the Christmas holidays and coincided with a record number of new cases, 224 cases recorded on Wednesday, the highest daily tally since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Updated at 7:50pm with MUT strike decision
The Malta Union of Teachers has ordered a two-day strike for educators in all State schools after emergency talks with government broke down this evening.
Union president Marco Bonnici said a request for teaching to go online until a thorough assessment of the COVID-19 situation is carried out by the health authorities following a post-holidays spike in cases was refused by Prime Minister Robert Abela. The union said it was warned that teachers will not be paid if they opted for online lessons.
Bonnici said following the government s intransigence on the matter, the union declared an industrial dispute and ordered its members in those schools that will not be offering online teaching to go on a two-day strike.