[WATCH] Task force to address learning gaps made worse by school closure

Home learning has exposed discrepancies in learning as not all children have adequate help at home but a taskforce has been set up to address these gaps, Owen Bonnici said.

The Education Minister said the taskforce will try and cushion the impact on learning caused by the early closure of schools as a result of COVID-19.

“Work by the taskforce is already underway, and we hope that any issues that arise are addressed appropriately,” he said when asked by MaltaToday how the education authorities planned on addressing learning gaps when schools re-open in September.

No decision yet on picking books from schools

Bonnici said talks were also underway with the Malta Union of Teachers to plan a way forward so that parents and students could collect work books left at school when schools were closed.

“The schedule would enable teachers to go to the school at a specific date and prepare all the needed items, while parents and students go on another day, to pick them,” Bonnici said.

A decision has not yet been taken.

Online courses for parents, educators

Bonnici was speaking during a press conference on Friday morning during which the ministry and the Institute for Education unveiled online courses for parents and educators to help them hone their skills at a time when students have been forced to their homes. 

Parents can enrol in more than 40 sessions, while teachers can benefit from more than 17 courses. 

Bonnici said that as part of the ministry’s efforts to shift education to online platforms, it saw fit to provide educators and parents added help in quickly adapting to online learning. 

“We wanted to give teachers the opportunity to progress their career and learn new skills by offering them free sessions,” Bonnici said. 

The lessons will give teachers the opportunity to progress their career as part of the Accelerated Progression Scheme.

During these lessons, which will be held between April and June, educators can talk with the lecturer and also to one another, ask questions, discuss and participate as though they are in the same class.

With every training course they successfully conclude, educators will be able to accumulate hours of teaching until they reach the 360 hours needed to progress in their scale in six years' time instead of eight.

The courses are available to teachers, LSEs and heads. 

For parents, courses will be offered between April and June, and will cover a wide range of topics, including how to deal with autism at home, how to persuade children to read and write, how to cope with children who have learning difficulties among others. 

Institute CEO Joanne Grima said that 475 parents and 140 educators have applied for the courses since their launch.