Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that change in the educational system is a long and complicated process and if the government rushed it, the country would end up with a worse educational system, stressing that this was a "marathon, not a sprint".

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Bartolo said he found himself "in a difficult situation since I am one of the biggest critics of the flaws of our educational system."

He criticised the current educational system for choosing to focus on the content of a subject without allowing the students to learn how to express this knowledge and form coherent arguments which reflect their personal opinion. He stressed that it is an unjust system which favours grades over individual talents. "We need to have the courage to change the system," he added.

Education is not enough however, the country needs to provide social economic programmes to be able to give each and every student, no matter from what background they come from, the possibility of achieving in education.

He also called for greater investment in helping students aged over 16 who may not be economically able to continue their studies, pointing to the large expenses certain students pay regardless of their line of study. He used the example of a hairdressing student who may not be able to pay the amount they require their materials.

Alternative education courses should not be viewed as a bring-in site for troubled students, he said. It is unjust that it has got this stigma. 

Whilst it is important to take care of vulnerable students, the government also provides courses to those who discover their vocation early such as in the fields of science.

In the last three years, the government introduced summer programmes to help students pass their SEC examines, Mr Bartolo said. He emphasised that other projects like this have a long term vision and the results will be felt in few years time.

"When have we missed deadlines then" he said when pointing to schools being earmarked for improvements such as Swatar, Isla, Msida among others.

The one thing the government has done is upgrade all the laptops and electronic apparatuses. It is important to note, the minister said was that schools in Malta have 3d printers showing the governments intent to educate students on the functions of emerging technologies.

Opposition parliamentary whip David Agius this evening called on the government to prioritise legislation targeting sports and especially for legislation that would strengthen the fight against corruption and match-fixing, while also appealing for measures that would ensure that national teams are not marred by corruption.

In his address to Parliament this evening, Mr Agius also urged government to enact legislation on sports commercialisation.

"This law," he said, "should focus on integration, education, prevention and providing police with the necessary tools to enforce the fight against corruption.

"It is shameful when doubts arise on our national teams or players. One should play for the national team, not for other reasons. These laws do not cost money but our commitment."

On costs being faced by football clubs, Mr Agius questioned why a club should pay thousands of euros just to submit an application with the Planning Authority for the construction of a football ground, costs that range at around €45,000.

On the promised track for motorsports enthusiast, Mr Agius urged the parliamentary secretary to declare the stage at which the plans.  Furthermore, he questioned what had happened to the Valletta FC football ground, the Marsa sports ground upgrade and when the sport of rugby will, at long last, have its own pitch.

As regards the Vote 16 initiative, which would see 16-year-olds being endowed with the right to vote, Mr Agius asked what, exactly, the government was waiting for to enact the necessary constitutional changes.

Expanding on the topic of youth, Mr Agius proposed a parliamentary debate on the 2020 National Youth Policy, which will show exactly where the country stood on this important national policy.

Mr Agius also proposed the government supports youths in start-ups by issuing guarantees. He stressed that when it came to sport and children neither party should get politics involved.

In reply, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Chris Agius said that the government is currently working with the Malta Football Association to combat corruption and match-fixing in sports. 

'We have a government of deadline fatigue!' - George Pullicino slams lack of vision in budget

MP George Pullicino criticized the amount of deadlines the current administration has missed since the beginning of its legislature.

He told Minister for Education Evarist Bartolo that the budget lacks vision and coordination in the field of education and that teachers, educators and department officials are well aware of this.

On Nurture Clubs and Learning zones Pullicino asked whether the government has introduced new guidelines to a program which had begun underneath a nationalist government.

On the Learning Outcomes Programme which according to the Minister of Education would being in the scholastic year 2017-2018, shows that the ministry does everything half-heartedly since the minister had already promised that this would be implemented in October 2016.
Talking about the construction of new schools, Pullicino again criticized Bartolo for again missing deadlines. Pointing towards the school in St Paul's Bay, which has not even, began its first phase according to the MP. In the case of the school in Marsascala, he said that this was in fact meant to begin in 2015.

With regard to the school in Rabat in Gozo he welcomed the introduction of a new primary school but criticized the government for choosing to build it upon a playing field.

In the previous legislature, the administration had built and opened five new schools and had already started work on five others and two resource centres for student with disabilities. However, the current administration has abandoned both projects according to Pullicino.

When talking about the tablets which will be introduced this year, the MP pointed out that this was another deadline government had missed since it was due for September 2015

Resources provided to teachers need to increase according to Mr Pullicino who claimed the teachers, LSAs, and KGAs often use their own money to purchase basic materials. He pointed towards an MUT study which said that its members pay €300 to buy these materials. He did admit that this was a long standing problem but questioned why it was yet to be solved.

The biggest problem, he said, was the lack of human resources. He praised the introduction of LSAs but there are a number of large and diverse problems a teacher must deal with. There is a need for more human resources to assist teachers with these issues such as Teaching Assistants.