MUT takes action as MCAST orders lecturers to teach same syllabus in reduced lesson time
Lecturers at MCAST have been instructed by the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) to reduce the content of their study units to match a reduction in lesson time being imposed on them by the school.
MUT president Marco Bonnici revealed to this newsroom last week that MCAST had imposed a reduction in student entitlement hours, but expected
lecturers to fit the same amount of content into the reduced lesson hours.
As a result, they have instructed lecturers to reduce the content of their units to match the entitlement hours.
In a statement issued by the MUT following discussions with the MCAST management, the union said that the school was being “very short-sighted and not seeing the implications” of its decision.
Bonnici told The Malta Independent that MCAST was intent on slashing lesson entitlement hours by at least 12.5%. He also said that in the case of some courses, lesson entitlement hours had been halved.
The situation affects vocational units, not academic ones, with Bonnici warning that this was incredibly worrying considering the fact that MCAST’s mission was to ensure that vocational subjects were on a par with academic subjects.
Bonnici said that it was ultimately the students who would suffer as a result of the school’s decision, and called on MCAST to find a solution.
Another issue that has surfaced between MCAST and the MUT relates to the salary adjustments laid out in a collective agreement signed earlier this summer.
Bonnici told this newsroom that, when the agreement was signed, it was clear that MCAST lacked the necessary personnel to work out the salaries. As a result, the adjustments stipulated in the collective agreement had been “messed up,” leaving members of staff having to compare and work their own salaries.
Bonnici lamented the fact that the MUT had flagged this issue numerous times and that each time the school had assured them the issue would not occur. However, despite these assurances, the issue had indeed occurred, with most adjustments issued incorrectly.
In a statement regarding the issue, the union said that it was following the matter and that it expected the respective offices at MCAST to shoulder responsibility for these “serious shortcomings.”