June 30, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Clarification re: Mentors Appointed by the University of Malta to mentor Student Teachers
The Malta Union of Teachers would like to clarify the following points:
a) The Union agrees with the concept of mentoring of student teachers;
b) The Union proposed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the MEDE and the UoM to spell out conditions of these mentors, including remuneration and duties related;
c) The MUT drafted a whole MOU to this effect;
d) The MEDE realised that the Public Service is in talks with the UoM with regards to mentoring duties within the whole public service (not just education) and rejected the MOU;
e) The MEDE accepted to take the burden of course costs;
f) The MEDE, however, refused to take the financial burden of remuneration of mentors at least until the talks between the Civil Service authorities and the UoM are concluded;
g) The UoM, to date, has not decided or agreed to take over remuneration of the mentors itself. It says that the Minister had promised the Faculty to cover these costs by the MEDE, but was not able to provide any such commitment in writing.
Therefore, to conclude, the current situation is the following:
a) At this moment in time the MUT has no agreement on mentoring of university students;
b) The MEDE and the UoM are not ruling out that in the future they award remuneration to appointed mentors but as yet neither the MEDE nor the UoM have given any commitment or details. All persons interested are however currently entering into this project in the dark and the Union cannot guarantee that the future will bring with it any conditions or remuneration given the lack of commitment;
c) The MEDE is financing the mentoring course;
d) The MUT will not stop or take any action on persons who decide to volunteer for the course to become mentors and take up mentoring duties;
e) The MUT will try its best to regularise this position if this is possible after the civil service and the UoM reach an agreement;
f) The MUT will however refuse outright any duties dumped onto other teachers for lack of mentors in a subject/area;
g) The Union will also assist any member (in any school) who reports to the union that s/he is pressurised to enter the mentoring course or mentoring duties.
