About 20 teachers and staff have resigned from St Albert the Great College, the teaching union says, plunging the school into a "crisis".
Four colleagues resigned last month.They were fired by principal Mario Maria in July for insubordination, an act that sparked a backlash from parents and teachers.
The resignations are all across the board and some positions are considered very important by MUT head Marco Bonnici, who plays a key role in the school.
Due to delays in preparations, schools had to delay the start of the school year by two days.
Marco Bonnici, president of the Malta Teachers' Union, said most of the resignations occurred just before the start of the school year.
Bonnici said the resignations were across the board and some of the positions were very important within the school's landscape.
A source said a total of four assistant principals, three secondary teachers, an inclusion coordinator, a secretary, a clerk and three LSE staff had left in the past few weeks.
In the last week, the Dominican order has posted vacancies for teachers in various subjects such as biology, integrated sciences, computer studies, etc., as well as vacancies for positions such as learning support assistants and primary school teachers.
Faculty vacancies at St. Albert University College have been publicly posted.
Resignation trend.
Bonnici said it will be difficult to find a suitable replacement, compounded by the fact that now that the school year has begun.Last July, the college had 80 faculty members.
"That means four-quarters of the staff have resigned," he said.
This number of resignations is unprecedented in our opinion.As a union we are deeply concerned.This situation is indeed a crisis.
He said the MUT had been in close contact with the Ministry of Education and the Catholic Education Secretariat, concerned about the alarming number of resignations.
Bonnici said the union wants schools to continue their excellent results and efforts, but at the current pace we may see schools close.Therefore, we need to take action to avoid this happening.
A spokesman for the secretariat admitted that parents of university students had paid "enthusiastic attention" to the issue over the past few weeks.
However, it noted that while it had "tirelessly" addressed the issue, the academy's responsibilities "fell squarely on the shoulders of the Dominican Order which owns the school".
The spokesperson said the Secretariat remains committed to supporting initiatives aimed at safeguarding the welfare and education of students and staff in schools.
Questions were sent to the Ministry of Education and the university's president, Father Aaron Zahra.
The text has been modified to read: This change changed the atmosphere of the entire place.
One teacher who resigned at the start of the academic year said when she left that the environment at the college had changed significantly.
Bridges have been burned at the university, tensions are currently very high and it all feels very unsettling.
She added that after witnessing Mallia's controversial sacking, many teachers felt a sense of "fear" and there were changes to the way schools were run.
Mary values all of us.In the past, leadership was balanced and everyone was actively involved.However, things have now changed and the principal and the Dominican Order want to run the school alone.
One teacher who resigned said she realized attitudes had changed among some teachers.
Previously, all employees would have morning prayers in the staff room.But now, some teachers avoid entering the staff room or even pass other teachers in the hallways without recognizing each other. ” she explained.
She said the incident had turned the college upside down and had a profound impact on students.
One teacher still at the college said students had been significantly affected by the increase in resignations.
He said the situation was very frustrating and had been influenced by a culture of fear.
Students feel confused.
He continued: "I have students who come to me because they feel unhappy when I leave, and they notice when their favorite teacher leaves or is unhappy. My students themselves come to me and ask me for Don’t leave them too.”
They were extremely disturbed by what was happening.
Many courses have been affected due to the increase in resignations.One teacher said many courses were short of teachers and replacements had to be found or the courses could end up being "free courses".
When flu season begins, we'll be faced with the question of what to do.As flu activity increases, it is expected that more teachers will become ill and need to take time off or miss certain classes.In this case, it may be difficult for us to cope with all situations.
Teachers have said that their top concern is the happiness and welfare of their students.
The quality of schools has plummeted, and teachers can find other jobs, but what about students? How are we going to guarantee their education, the education they are entitled to?
Notes left by students.
The student left a note that read: "Are you Jesus?"
Silent protest.
Handwritten notes around the middle school hallways were a silent protest, calling on students and schools to speak out for justice. Pictures from Times of Malta show the protest.
One note said "Bring Maria Back" while another said "Aaron Barra" (implying that Aaron left with Father Bara and that the new principal was Aaron Zahra Fr.).
Other notes asked whether the school lived up to Catholic values and said they were saddened that teachers were being held against their will.
It was revealed that the notes were eventually thrown away by the principal's secretary.
