The art students following a B.Ed. (Hons.) course with the Faculty of Education are sending out a desperate call to the authorities to take action and help them to have access to a room they can call an art studio. Students explain that learning art without an art studio is like learning to drive without a car.

This course is not being delivered as well as it should be and the present situation is creating extreme pedagogical and logistical constraints for all students. The repercussions of this will be experienced by none other than the younger generation; that is the students who will be under the care of these future teachers. It is not the intention of this letter to discuss the merits of Art in the holistic development of children; however one should note that way back in 1999, through the National Minimum Curriculum, the country made a commitment give all children the opportunity to express their artistic inclinations as part of their formation in becoming mature and responsible citizens.

Failing to provide an adequate space for our art student-teachers to practice and learn the subject, is creating an obstacle for these same students to obtain all the necessary skills they need to deliver the high level of education expected.

This whole issue is all a question of good management. As pointed out recently in the media, there are spaces at the university that can be turned into a satisfactory art studio. The authorities are aware of these spaces but art students have never been given a clear reply or offered a solution to their problem to solve this specific issue for the good of both the university art undergraduates and all their future students. This is not a matter of spending millions, simply a call for better management, a call for people to take action. Art practice deserves more respect from the highest educational institution on the island.

Emanuel Bonnici

PRO

University Student Teachers’ Association