Placements for student teachers increase by roughly 50 spots

Speaking to MaltaToday, Labour spokesperson for Education Evarist Bartolo confirmed that, following talks between the Faculty of Education and heads of schools, the number of teaching placements on offer will increase by around 50.

He also confirmed that 20 of these would be teaching placements at Primary School level.

Bartolo also confirmed that there was also an increase in the student teacher placement offering by independently-run and Church-owned schools, adding however that these are “only a handful.”

This means that state schools are responsible for the majority of the extra placements secured.

The additional placements were secured following discussions between the Faculty of Education Dean (Dr Valerie Sollars) and heads of schools in a bid to boost decreasing student teacher placements – after restrictions on the intake for the B. Ed and PGCE courses were announced earlier this week.

Bartolo said that every teaching placement spot ‘translates’ into an additional one or two spots in the B. Ed and PGCE courses, meaning that increases in student placements will allow university to broaden its currently-restricted intake into the B. Ed and PGCE courses.

But despite the increase in placements, Bartolo however noted that “hundreds will still be left out.” He said that the exact figures will be known on 4th October, when placement and admittance testing will be carried out.

On Tuesday, Bartolo told the media that increases in student teaching placements had been secured following discussions among stakeholders, which resolved to revise standing policies regarding how teaching placements are handled.

At the time, he was unable to provide exact figures of how many placements secured.

These policy revisions, Bartolo had said, include more teaching placements in Gozitan schools, and allowing student teachers to be placed alongside supply teachers (with was heretofore forbidden).

He said that the current policy of not placing student teachers with teachers who are still in the first two years of professional teaching work will be revised, meaning that such teachers would be able to take on student teachers.

Bartolo also called on the Education Ministry to take a greater leadership and management role in the direction things were headed in, to ensure that problems within the education system do not spiral out of hand.

He also said that it might be time for a revision of how teaching practice is done in Malta, insisting that students being prepared to teach require a quality education and preparation. 

He had also called on Church schools to increase their student teacher placement offering, insisting that given how Church schools directly benefit from state funding, these should shoulder more of the burden.

In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the Education Ministry hit out at Labour Education spokespersons Evarist Bartolo and Owen Bonnici, saying that it had already been working in the background to resolve the issue.

The ministry also accused Bartolo of trying to take the merit for work that the Education Ministry and the University had done.

While it also confirmed that the number of student placements hade been increased, it however did not elaborate on how many additional placements were secured.

It however added that the number of student placements is expected to increase over the coming days.