The situation described by the teachers who won the Extraordinary Competition ter (DDG 2575) highlights a strong concern regarding the fairness of the probationary year. The teachers complain about an unequal treatment compared to other colleagues. In fact, the teachers Winners of competition but not yet qualified, were not allowed to carry out the probationary year this year. The teachers started a petition with over 200 signatures collected.
It could be useful for the teachers involved to seek a direct comparison with the Ministry or to start union initiatives to ask for clarifications or, possibly, a review of the provisions in order to guarantee a fair path for all winners of the extraordinary competition. In the meantime, the teachers involved have sent a long letter to the Ministry.
The position of the teachers involved
Below is the letter from the teachers.
“Dear Ministry of Education, as representatives of the Teachers who won the Public Competition announced with DDG 2575 of 6 December 2023, we would like to bring to your kind attention a matter of considerable importance arising from the publication of MIUR note no. 202382 of 26 November 2024, with particular reference to the methods of implementing the training and testing path for the 2024/2025 school year. The provision contained in the note in question, according to which: “Pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 2, and Article 18-bis, paragraph 4, of Legislative Decree no. 13 April 2017, 59, teachers hired on a fixed-term contract for a common post in secondary schools, as winners of the competition announced with DDG 2575 of 6 December 2023 without a qualification at the time of hiring, will carry out the probationary and training period of the 2025/2026 school year following their permanent hiring, after obtaining the qualification itself", has produced a serious and evident disparity in treatment between the winners of the same competition. As emerges from the aforementioned note, those who began service before obtaining the qualification are precluded from carrying out the probationary year in the 2024/2025 school year, unlike other winners who, having had the merit ranking published between the end of November and the beginning of December 2024, already had the qualification at the time of hiring. It should be noted that the disparity in treatment is not justified by any rule, therefore resulting in violation of: 1. Art. 3 of the Constitution, which establishes the principle of equality, imposing equal treatment between homogeneous situations. In this case, all the winners of the DDG 2575 competition participated in the same selection procedure and qualified through the same training path. Therefore, the mere technical delay of the Universities in issuing qualifications for the 2023/24 academic year, completely independent of the will of the candidates, cannot justify such discrimination. 2. Of art. 97 of the Constitution, which imposes impartiality and the proper functioning of the Public Administration. Allowing some of the winners to carry out the probationary year in 2024/2025, precluding others for reasons not attributable to the teachers themselves, constitutes a violation of the principle of impartiality. 3. Of Legislative Decree 13 April 2017, n. 59, of which art. 13, paragraph 2, and art. 18-bis, paragraph 4, must be interpreted in accordance with constitutional principles and cannot give rise to arbitrary discrimination. In light of the above considerations, he wonders: That all winners of the DDG 2575 competition who obtained the qualification by 31/12/2024 be recognized possibility of completing the training and probationary period already in AS 2024/2025, also through the possible stipulation of a fixed-term contract, in compliance with the principle of equality and the aforementioned rules.
This solution appears to comply with the provisions of Legislative Decree 59/2017, since the achievement of the qualification, even if it occurs after hiring, is still within the end of the calendar year, thus ensuring compliance with the requirements for the probationary year. The delay in completing the qualifying courses, attributable exclusively to the Universities, and in any case the deadline for providing the qualifying courses scheduled between November/December 2024 is regulated by the MUR note no. 9171 "Operational instructions on the activation procedures for teacher training courses for the academic years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025", cannot in any way burden the teachers who win the competition. The impossibility of carrying out the probationary year for reasons beyond the control of the candidates and the resulting disparities between winners of the same competition procedure constitute a clear violation of the constitutional principles of equality, impartiality and good performance of the PA
It is highlighted and reiterated as the candidates who won the DDG 2575 Competition of 6 December 2023, appointed and hired into a permanent position starting from 1 September 2024 through the 2024 Merit Rankings (GM24) and simultaneously engaged in attending qualifying courses governed by MUR Decree no. 9171, with conclusion scheduled between November and December 2024, would suffer a clear disparity in treatment compared to those who, participating in the same competition but for different competition classes, completed the tests by 10 December 2024. This differentiation derives from the evaluation times of the examining commissions and is reflected in Note no. 135779 of 4 September 2024, containing ''Indications on fixed-term contracts for the coverage of positions set aside for permanent positions relating to the PNRR 2023 competitions''. The aforementioned note establishes, exceptionally for the 2024/2025 school year, the possibility of using, by 31 December 2024, the competitive rankings approved after 31 August but no later than 10 December 2024, in order to ensure the achievement of the hiring objectives set by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Therefore, a situation occurs in which teachers who have won the same competition, participating in the same qualifying courses, are treated differently. In particular, teachers hired on the basis of the rankings approved by 31 August 2024, even if they are already enrolled and attending the initial training university qualification courses, will not have the opportunity to complete the probationary year for the 2024/2025 school year, unlike those who, thanks to the use of the rankings approved subsequently, will be able to complete the qualification and begin the probationary year by the deadline of 31 December 2024. This disparity therefore appears to lack regulatory justification and to be detrimental to the principle of equal treatment between candidates belonging to the same public competition. “In relation to the issue above, it is considered appropriate to recall a position already formally advanced by the UIL through an official communication addressed to the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Education and Merit: with this intervention, the need was underlined to provide, in favor of teachers without qualification, but who were winners in the Merit Rankings of the competitions approved by the deadline of August 31 and simultaneously enrolled in qualification courses intended to conclude within the current calendar year, the possibility of accessing the trial year experiment during the 2024/2025 school year.
This request, based on the need for fairness and rationalization of regulatory processes, aimed to allow, through a regulated derogation, the opportunity for the aforementioned staff to declare the acquisition of the qualifying title after the signing of the fixed-term contract. This, in order to proceed with the modification of the legal relationship to a permanent contract, allowing the training and probationary year to be carried out in the current school year, in compliance with the strategic recruitment objectives. It is highlighted that such a regulatory provision would not only guarantee the regular completion of all the steps envisaged by the recruitment process (competition, qualification and probationary period), but would also contribute to accelerating the full placement of teaching staff within the school system, in line with the objectives defined by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. This request was formulated in the following terms: "We hereby submit to you the case of teachers without qualification who were winners in the Merit Ranking of the last competition, the publication of which also occurs after 31/8, who at the same time are already enrolled in a qualification course, destined to conclude within the current calendar year. It would be necessary for such personnel to also be granted, at the appointment stage or after the signing of the fixed-term contract, the possibility of declaring the acquisition of the qualification title in order to allow the same personnel to experience the probationary year in the current school year, 2024/25, with a modification of the permanent contract. A request, the one represented, which without altering the regulatory paths, would allow greater speed in achieving the final objective, that of overcoming all the regulatory steps (competition, qualification, probationary period), accelerating the definitive placement of the staff in the school system. "It is believed that the adoption of such a measure, in addition to ensuring compliance with the principles of fairness and equal treatment among the teachers involved, would also respond to administrative efficiency purposes, facilitating the achievement of the hiring objectives set by the Administration. In this way, delays in the inclusion of fully qualified teaching staff in the school staff would be significantly reduced, while at the same time promoting their definitive placement in accordance with the organizational needs of the national education system. It is also desired to underline that the qualification paths in question have entailed a significant economic commitment on the part of the teachers, as reported in art. 13/2 of Legislative Decree. 59/2017 (The winners of the competition who have not yet obtained the teaching qualification and have participated in the competitive procedure pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 4, sign an annual supply contract with the Regional School Office to which the chosen school institution belongs and must acquire, in any case, 30 CFU/CFA from those that make up the university and academic path of initial training referred to in Article 2-bis, with costs, borne by the participants, defined by the decree referred to in paragraph 4 of the same Article 2-bis.), in the order of thousands of euros, without even being able to have any Teacher Bonus available, despite being winners of a Competition, in order to be able to access and complete these paths. While recognizing the importance of continuous training, it should be noted that, since these are graduate professionals, these investments in terms of time and resources have been addressed with the intent of optimizing their pedagogical and didactic skills. However, it turns out that, although training can be decisive, some teachers are sometimes penalised for a difference of only a few days between the date of appointment and the end of the qualifying course.
It should be noted that, regardless of the duration of this time difference, the quality and completeness of the training received would not have been affected in any way by this time gap, nor compromised in their educational value. With reference to art. 13, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree 59/2017, text in force from 23 06 2023, it should be noted that the law in question regulates access to the role of permanent teacher and that such access, as clearly established, is subject to the prior and positive passing of the specific qualification. The regulatory provision does not include any explicit provision regarding a possible deferral of the permanent hiring to the year following the achievement of the qualification, therefore, the permanent hiring normally takes effect following the positive outcome of the competitive procedure and the passing of the related probationary period. ''Once qualified, teachers are hired on a permanent basis and subjected to the annual probationary period in service, the successful completion of which determines their definitive entry into the role. [Art. 13/2 of Legislative Decree 59/2017]''It should be noted, however, that the actual timing of hiring may be subject to variations in relation to factors external to the law itself, such as the availability of vacant positions in school roles and the completion of related administrative procedures. It should also be noted that the aforementioned winners of the DDG 2575 competition with GM24 by 31 August 2024 who obtain their qualification by the year 2024, are subject to a modification of the three-year constraint, seeing it extended to four years. This provision, however, raises doubts regarding its fairness, a fact established as listed above so far. English: We trust, with the utmost urgency, in a decisive intervention aimed at correcting this situation of manifest inequality, which not only prejudices the legitimate rights of numerous teachers, but also undermines the correct and regular management of the competitive procedures. It is unacceptable that the teachers who have won the competition, regularly hired starting from September 1st and in possession of the official appointment, are penalized for having acquired the qualification by December 31st, preventing them from carrying out the probationary year in the 2024/2025 school year. Such a situation has no justification and must be corrected promptly, so that equal professional dignity is guaranteed to all teachers, without further damage to their careers and to the regular carrying out of the procedures provided for by the legislation. It is essential that this staff be granted the right to carry out the probationary year, in order to fully respect the principles of fairness and justice that should always characterize the national education system. Sincerely,
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