State school primary teachers number 1,049 for upcoming academic year

Primary teachers in state schools number 1,049 for the upcoming academic year, information tabled in parliament shows.

The information was tabled in parliament by Education Minister Justyne Caruana following a parliamentary question by Nationalist Whip Robert Cutajar.

Caruana also said there are 1,717 secondary school teachers in Malta’s state schools.

Information also showed there are 450 primary school and 1,023 secondary school teachers at church schools.

There are also 292 primary and 361 secondary school teachers at independent schools.

Figures released by the education ministry on Monday showed 36,000 students are attending State schools for the upcoming academic year.

There are 5,981 students in kindergarten, 15,827 in primary school, 12,143 in secondary school and 1,987 attending post-secondary education. The education ministry said registration for primary school was higher than in previous years.

Not everything is running smoothly behind the scenes however, as currently State primary schools are experiencing a shortage of teachers.

The Education Ministry assigned classes to peripatetic teachers but the situation has caused disquiet among the teachers and has led to an industrial dispute.