Last week I had the opportunity to visit St Benedict College in Kirkop. It is a state-of-the-art learning facility where our students are learning not only academic subjects such as English and mathematics, but also social subjects.
The government’s commitment to invest in education is proving itself an investment in our society. With more schools being restructured, extended or built as new, our children are being catered for with facilities that help them develop into men and women.
This is further enhanced with the new curriculum and extra curricular activities. With educational initiatives such as EcoSkola and subjects such as PSD, democracy and values, our children are not only learning academically but, most importantly, they are discovering society.
In various schools, student councils and voluntary groups are being set up that are instilling a sense of commitment and solidarity among students. The holding of activities and events in schools is helping in the development of the child into an active citizen.
These activities are introducing the principles of social responsibility and solidarity, values that are important in social life. These principles are not only valuable for us as Christians but also as a democratic society.
That is why these principles are high on the European Union list of values. The commission provides funding through specified programmes directed at civil society. Two such programmes are the Lifelong Learning and the Youth in Action.
These programmes are helping our children and young people discover a new social dimension, the European society. Thanks to projects financed by the European Union, our children are discussing and broadening their know-ledge in an informal manner.
The general objective of the Lifelong Learning Programme is to contribute to the development of the community as an advanced knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, while ensuring good protection of the environment for future generations. In particular, it aims to foster interchange, cooperation and mobility between education and training systems within the community so that they become a world quality reference.
Youth in Action is the new EU Programme in the field of youth, which is being implemented from 1 January 2007 until 31 December 2013 with a total budget of e885 million.
The Youth in Action Programme is a programme for all. It makes an important contribution to the acquisition of competences and is therefore a key instrument in providing young people with opportunities for non-formal and informal learning with a European dimension. It encourages the involvement of young people with fewer opportunities and addresses young people aged between 13 and 30.
Providing social development apart from academic development is essential for young people. These subjects provide the foundations for our children to be able to interact with responsibility in the social environment.
It is also important that students and young people learn that for every right there is a duty.
I believe that for an improvement in our society, everybody should contribute to improve the product our children are receiving. That is why it is very important that everyone plays their part. Parents, the community, educators and politicians must work hand in hand and this is being achieved for the benefit of our children.
This is what education should symbolise in society. On the other hand, the Malta Labour Party administration wanted to close down Church schools, did not allow the university to grow and, more recently, reduced students’ maintenance grants.
This sector, education, is another major difference between the PN and the MLP. While the PN believes in the potential of the Maltese people, and invests to further develop that potential, the MLP tries to hinder our young people’s quest for knowledge.
The Nationalist Party has a record of accomplishments in the field of education, including a record number of graduates leaving the university each year, providing society with a supply of professional workers that is attracting foreign investment and expansion in local industry.
A Nationalist Party in government is a guarantee of the highest quality in the field of education not only for us but, more importantly, for our children – the men and women of tomorrow.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP
www.davidcasa.eu
[email protected]