Teacher deployment lagging behind

A new scholastic year will start in the next few weeks. Preparations in schools should, by now, have been complete. However, in state schools, one of the most important elements in the groundwork for the new educational year is still missing. In fact, so far the deployment and postings in government schools for the forthcoming scholastic year has not yet been finalised.

Teacher deployment is of the utmost importance. The Education authorities in Malta have a strong role to play in delivering positive outcomes, for children, parents, teachers and Heads of Schools. It is most unfortunate that such an important issue has been neglected and hurried last-minute decisions  will have to be taken.

An early allocation of teachers would have avoided unnecessary complaints from the teachers and the Heads of Schools. Heads of schools need to prepare well in advance. Their teacher complement and the specialisation of the teachers under their charge would help in giving a better education to the students. Ideally, teachers should meet their respective head of school well beforehand. Based on experience and exigencies, the Head would be better positioned to provide a better education for all students.

On their part, teachers who do not yet know what grades they would be teaching, cannot easily prepare for the scholastic year. The Ministry and Department of Education have a duty to finalise deployments and postings as soon as possible. Year after year, the postponement of this problem has caused a disruption of educational services at the beginning of each scholastic year. This lack of decision-making is unfair to teachers and Heads of Schools and ultimately has an adverse effect on school children.