TMID Editorial: The end of the scholastic year

The scholastic year is coming to an end.

Students will be looking forward to weeks of holidays, enjoying the summer break away from books and pens. Many of them will be attending summer school, which, despite bringing them together in an organised setting, will not mean sitting behind a desk and looking at a whiteboard. There will be activities and fun, which will help them bond with friends they already know and make new acquaintances.

Societal changes have made summer schools necessary for many parents. More women have taken up jobs and careers, which means that they cannot be at home during the holidays. Added to this, the concept of an extended family, with grandpas and grandmas taking care of young children is slowly being lost as well. The age gap between the grandparents and the grandchildren is growing further apart as many women are giving birth later in their lives, and this does not help, either (apart from the fact that grandparents may still be pursuing their job and career, too).

Students who are in between different phases of their education – especially those moving on to post-secondary education or to tertiary courses – will be planning their new adventure. Some of them may be confused as to which path to take; they should remember that, these days, the opportunities are many and what they choose today may not necessarily be the career they will take up. But any education should be taken to mean a step forward.

The teachers will also be taking their break. It has not been an easy year for them, either. On an industrial level, we have a delicate situation as the government and the Malta Union of Teachers are still to sign a collective agreement which they have been negotiating for months. Last November, the MUT had even called a oneday strike as the talks stalled. After that, we seemed to be heading towards a conclusion, and an agreement had actually been announced during the election campaign.

But the feedback the union received when the agreement was presented to the members was not as positive as expected. Yesterday we came to know that a second draft accord has been reached. But it is still to be presented for the approval of the MUT members. This will happen next week and, hopefully, it will bring a long saga to an end.

Another agreement - with MCAST - is still pending, with students being the ones to suffer the most as teachers seek a new agreement to one which expired more than two years ago.

Many teachers will be using their free time to prepare for the next scholastic year. All teachers will tell you that no scholastic year is the same as the previous one, and this largely depends on the type of students they will come across.

The summer also allows for maintenance work to be carried out on school buildings, work that is not possible when schools are open for safety reasons.

The end of the school season also brings some respite to our roads, especially at peak hours, as the number of vehicles in use drops sharply during the summer months. We welcome that, too.