A volountary training course aimed at educating teachers on how to combat racism in the classroom was cancelled after less than 10 teachers applied to participate.
The course entitled Educating Against Racism, Xenophobia And Discrimination, organised by the Training and Staff Development Unit of the Department of Education, was meant to be held in July last year.
This was the first in-service focusing on racism and xenophobia in schools. Ten other training courses addressing related themes like globalisation, citizenship and human rights were organised in the past five years. Less than 32 teachers attended these courses.
MUT President John Bencini attributed this lack of interest to the lack of racial problems encountered by teachers in Maltese schools. Bencini said that the MUT had only ever received one report on racism and xenophobia over the past years which involved a young Maltese student of African origins who was repeatedly called black by his peers.
According to Bencini the only preoccupation with immigrant students was expressed by teachers at the Birzebbugia primary, who insisted these children be screened for infectious diseases. But when they were assured that those attending school were screened, there were no further objections.
“Although racist discourse is increasingly common among grown-ups, these sentiments are rarely expressed by young children and even multicultural schools like the one at St Paul’s Bay do not encounter serious problems,” Bencini said.
Bencini’s claim that Maltese schools are generally free of racism is backed by Education Minister Louis Galea. Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Carmelo Abela, Galea said no cases of racism were ever reported in Maltese schools.
There are 341 non-Maltese students attending Maltese schools. Foreign students attending primary schools are assisted by facilitators.
The St Paul’s Bay primary school alone hosts 40 foreign students and is a melting pot of cultures with students hailing from 17 different countries ranging from Brazil to Thailand, Georgia to Canada, and Sweden to Tunisia.
The mission statement of the school states that: “Notwithstanding the different social and cultural background of our students we aim to help all students learn together so that they develop the skills to become fulfilled responsible citizens.”
But a university dissertation which studied teachers’attitudes towards migrants in two Maltese schools revealed that some teachers are not immune from racist attitudes.
A primary school teacher interviewed for the dissertation referred to a Congolese student “literally like a monkey jumping from one side to another”, while another teacher referred to Moroccans as “mischievous by nature”.
The study also showed that in one particular classroom, refugees were not only placed on one side, but were put at the far end of the room.