By Wednesday coming week, all state school children will be back in their respective classrooms, back to getting an education they all deserve and in the best place where they can get it – by their educators in their classrooms.
Schools across the country have been preparing for this happy and much expected return since the abrupt closure brought about by the world-wide spread of the pandemic which has brought about a new ‘normality’ to our lives, in all sectors as much as in the scholastic sector.
However, the more than 50 measures implemented across the state schools in our country are there safeguarding our educators and children by drastically minimising the risk of the pandemic spread. Measures which have all been certified as implemented by independent assessors registered with the OHSA. All schools have been certified as compliant with the Health Authorities guidance and protocols discussed prior to the schools opening.
Visiting nearly all schools and educational institutions in Malta and Gozo, I saw all the preparations put into place and which are being adhered to. However, I also sensed the great expectation that educators have to receive their students and start connecting with them again, maybe not as much as a physical connection due to COVID restrictions, but a much needed back-to-where-you-belong connection.
Educating our young is a priority. No one debates this. However schools are much more than getting an education as we know it. Schools are not only important to prepare our children with the tools we will need for future success in the job market. Outside of the classroom, students also learn valuable lessons at school: social skills, behaviour, work ethic, and gaining a sense of personal achievement.
Further than this, children learn by interacting with their educators and their peers. They become more vocal and confident through education. They make life-long friends. Schools serve as the basis of mental and physical growth of an individual living in a society.
Schools are way much more than learning Math, English and Chemistry.
Children across the island are being welcomed back to their schools with this background. Educators have been working hard to make the most of this scholastic year. The Ministry and Department of Education have been planning and implementing to make this particular scholastic year another fantastic educational journey.
It is our aim, our mission, our commitment not only to strengthen this sector – education – but also giving our all, particularly during this scholastic year, to make it another success like the past years.
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Together with MATSEC Director Dario Pirotta and the deputy Director of the Examinations Department Michael Deguara, I visited a centre where a session of the Matriculation and SEC examinations which took place between 29 August and 7 October 2020.
Exam sessions which were successfully completed. All went well thanks again to the measures put into place to safeguarded both students and examiners. All in all, I stress that, whilst recognizing the genuine concern of all involved about the fact that these examinations were held, facts show that it was a wise decision to continue with the education of our students even with their exams.
The success of the examination sessions was achieved because the authorities followed all the measures advised by the Health Authorities for the examinations to take place.
Between the SEC and Matriculation exams, a total of 150 sessions were held in 14 different centres. A total of 7,668 students participated. From the information received by the Education Authorities by the students themselves, 35 students missed one or more sessions because they were quarantined but they will still be able to continue their studies following pronouncements made earlier this year by the Educational Institutions.
I thank again the Examinations Department and the MATSEC Board and all staff involved for a job well done so that these examinations could be conducted successfully to the benefit of all. Thanks also to the students and parents for their cooperation.
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A total of 5,489 students returned to their classrooms in State Schools across Malta and Gozo on the first day of the students’ return to their schools. These were students of the Kindergarten 2nd Year, Year 6 and Year 9. As a percentage, 78% of Year 9 eligible students, 77% of Year 6 eligible students and 60% of the Kindergarten 2nd Year students attended their respective classrooms.
Students returned to schools which are operating in a different scenario than usual, with the implementation of the protocol set by the local Health Authorities in consultation with the Education Department, for the re-opening of schools with the more than 50 measures intended to minimise as much as possible the risk of infection from COVID-19.
Measures include new systems put in place to regulate how students enter schools, new security officers placed at each and every school, a 40% increase in time for the cleansing of schools, social distancing between the students’ and also the students’ and the educators’ chairs, regrouping of students in distinct bubbles, the use of masks and/or visors according to the mentioned protocol and the promotion of a better hygiene with the frequent washing of hands and the use of sanitizers.
Visiting the Pembroke Secondary School (St Clare College) which opened on the 7th to receive Year 9 students, I followed the new process according to the set protocol, which was highly efficient. This school, together with all the country’s schools, is well prepared to receive students for the continuation of their education, and at the same time minimising the risk of transmission with all the measures in place.
The next day, Thursday 8th was the first day of school for the students of the Kindergarten 1st Year, Year 1 and Year 11, leading to all students who will eventually be back to school, according to their scholastic year, by coming Wednesday.
Although being repetitive, I thank all the College Principals, Heads of Schools, Educators, Staff, parents and students for all cooperation being shown.