“Education should be a basic human right” – President of the Malta Union of Teachers

"Education should be a basic human right," according to Kevin Bonello, President of the Malta Union of Teachers.

Bonello was speaking at a joint press conference alongside the education minister, Evarist Bartolo. The conference was held at the offices of MUT to celebrate 'World Teachers' Day'.

"It saddens me when I look at the state Greece currently finds itself in, where a total of 120 educational institutions have been closed down.  The sad truth is that the real victims in these cases are the students and their families.  Education, in my opinion, should be a basic human right," Bonello said.

Bonello also expressed his concern about the increasingly non-academic role of the heads of schools, whilst hitting out at a local culture which, Bonello believes, does not show teachers their due respect

"Unfortunately, Principles are spending too much time in their office having to fill out paper-work when they really should be overseeing the academic side of things. To add insult to injury, many teachers in Malta do not feel like their authority is respected much. This is a very unfortunate situation and we hope that things change in this regard," he said.

Evarist Bartolo said that the country "cannot afford to give up on even one child" as young and willing students are Malta's best resource.

Bartolo said that last year's SEC results - in which there was just a 45% pass rate - show that there is room for a lot of improvement but that the government is intent on helping the situation.

"There is a constant need for good education and we, the government, will continue to support that need."

The minister said that he is very willing to work "hand in hand" with MUT  but stressed that the input of Heads and Assistant Heads of schools Is crucial. After all, he said, they are the "real players in the field."

Bartolo agreed with Bonello in that teachers should be shown more respect.

"Teachers are under a lot of stress every single day. Unfortunately, it is no longer the case that they assume immediate authority or respect. We need to try change these attitudes."

"On my part, I would like to thank teachers for all the work they do, and all the perseverance they show on a daily basis."

The World Teachers' Day has been held annually on 5 October since 1994.