October 5, 2024 at 6:35 am
Press release: World Teachers’ Day – 5th October 2024
The Malta Union of Teachers is commemorating World Teachers’ Day 2024, held annually on 5th October. This year’s UNESCO World Teachers’ Day theme is Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education. The day provides the occasion to celebrate the teaching profession worldwide.
“Teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the future by nurturing students and driving educational progress. However, to fully harness their potential, it is crucial that their voices are heard and valued in the decision-making processes that affect their profession”.
Locally, collective negotiations are central to the work being carried out by the MUT and educational authorities to value Educators. During this year we have seen the culmination of the extensive work carried out towards the signing of a new sectoral agreement for educators in State Schools. This year we shall also see the conclusion of negotiations of a new collective agreement for educators in Church Schools as negotiations are ongoing. Negotiations have started with a number of Independent Schools to renew their respective Collective Agreements. New negotiations by MUT on a number of agreements shall start in the coming weeks.
The academic year for the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology commenced with industrial unrest through a protest led by MUT and followed by directives about an agreement which expired two years nine months ago and which has not yet been concluded. The MUT calls on the Education Ministry to intervene to address this situation.
Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day (WTD) commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets forth the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. To complement the 1966 Recommendation, the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to cover teaching and research personnel in higher education.
