A consultative document on religious education in schools published by the Maltese Church yesterday says the Episcopal Conference will issue a new ordinance regulating the process continuously evaluating the suitability of teachers of religious education.
The document, authored by the Secretariat for Catechesis, states that the process will ensure the quality of teachers in schools for the ongoing appraisal of suitability to teach religious education.
The 1988 agreement with the Holy See lays down that religion teachers should, besides academic qualifications, also be persons of serious Catholic conviction who live in accordance with what they to teach.
At present those wishing to teach Catholic religion must get a Certificate of Suitability issued by the bishop, as the guarantor of teachers’ moral and religious conviction and competence to teach religion.
But while at present, all primary school teachers can teach Catholic religion, the Secretariat for Catechesis claims that more primary level children are being taught religion by teachers who might not be practising Christians, or who might have even rejected the Christian faith outright.
“This situation renders the teaching of religion a problem for the teachers in question and more so for the sons and daughters of those Christian parents,” the document states.
Primary teachers are employed in schools after they obtain a B.Ed (Hons) with a specialisation in primary education, which includes study-units in the pedagogy and methodology of religious education at primary level.
On the other hand, almost all teachers who have been issued the Certificate of Suitability in these last years have either obtained a four-year B.Ed (Hons) with a specialisation in religious education, or a bachelor’s degree with at least 60 credits in theology together with a one year P.G.C.E, or a Masters in Theology together with a recognised pedagogical course.
The authors of the report have called for the introduction of school-based subject teachers of religious education to support the primary class teachers in their school, and teach the subject instead of those who do not feel comfortable teaching the subject if they are not suitable enough.
Officials of the Secretariat for Catecheses said the document drew a distinction between religious education and parish catecheses. “Central to religious education as proposed by the document, is students’ empowerment with a language that will potentially enable them to live fully and to face the challenges they encounter in their personal and social life.”
The document also proposes to introduce students to the “beauty found in other faith traditions” and for an increase in the number of religious education lessons on Church schools, the restructuring of religious counselling and the introduction of religious education support teachers in primary schools.
It will be discussed at a national conference on 12 June ahead of the preparation of a national policy for approval by the bishops of Malta and Gozo.