A staff member measures temperature for students in Pembroke, Malta, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
VALLETTA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of state school students returned to their classrooms in Malta on Wednesday after a three-month summer break, but uncertainties over the pandemic and teacher shortages marred the grand reopening of schools.
While the schoolchildren were excited to return to their desks in the company of their friends, most parents felt anxious about the spread of COVID-19 and the risks their children were facing.
Elena Panzavecchia, whose seven-year-old daughter Jeanelle also returned to school, said she was concerned about the possible spread of coronavirus in school even though all children will have to wear face masks while present at school facilities, except when they are eating or drinking.
"I'm not entirely happy because whereas in summer I could control who she meets and where, at school I have no such control. All my family is vaccinated but my daughter is not, so she's exposed," Panzavecchia told Xinhua as she was collecting her daughter from school after the first day.
"During summer, I was very careful where I went and where I took my children, but I'm sure that not everyone was as careful as I was," she explained.
Her friend, Mariella Debattista, concurred, adding that despite her concerns she still believed that the best place for her son to receive his education was at school.
Andre Grech, whose five-year-old son also returned to school on Wednesday, said he was particularly concerned about the teacher shortages, saying he could not understand how a week before school started the authorities had realized that there were some 80 "missing" primary school teachers.
"I wonder what they spent their summer doing if no one realized that there were missing teachers. How do we suddenly realize this just a few days before the new academic year begins? It's beyond me," he said.
Malta Union of Teachers said on Wednesday that many supply teachers in primary schools were only redeployed in the past few days, leaving them with little time to prepare.
The staff shortages have led the Education Ministry to order various teachers of specialised subjects to teach a fixed classroom instead, but this caught them unprepared.
The teachers' union president Marco Bonnici told a press conference earlier this week that it was all a question of lack of preparation. Although the Education Ministry had issued protocols for the reopening of schools, it did not have a tangible plan on how it could implement those protocols, Bonnici said.
Another union, the Union of Professional Educators, said on Wednesday that "many educators are considering handing in their letter of resignation", warning that if resignation numbers continue to rise, Malta will have an "educational meltdown imminently".
But these bickerings aside, Kimberley Zerafa, eight years old, said she was "very happy" to be back at school with her friends.
"I've been looking forward to starting school since the middle of summer, when going to the beach and barbeques at home started to become boring. I much prefer being at school," she said.
Asked whether the pandemic worried her, she replied: "Not really. I'll just continue being careful as I've been for the past 18 months. Nothing has changed." Enditem
A girl is seen at a school in Pembroke, Malta, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
A girl is seen waiting to enter the school in Pembroke, Malta, Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
Parents send their children to go to school in Pembroke, Malta, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
