The government has made it a point to invest heavily in the education system. After the crisis in the sector in the early 1980s – with teachers going out on strike, the battle to keep Church schools open and the great difficulty for young people to pursue their studies because university doors were open only to a few – the Nationalist Party, once in power in 1987, overhauled the system.
Subsequent changes over the past 20 years continued to build on the initial success, and today Malta can be proud of having a solid base to “produce” future generations of highly-skilled workers and professionals. After all, we can only rely on human resources to survive, and this is something that we must always keep in mind.
Of course, for an education system to work well one needs to have the best facilities possible. And, in this regard, it must be said that the government has worked on these two factions with the same concentration. Without proper amenities, the system cannot work; and without a proper system, money spent on amenities would be money down the drain.
The latest innovation will be the opening of the new boys’ secondary school in Qormi, which will be held in time to accommodate students at the start of the scholastic year next month.
It will be a school that is different from the rest, a pilot project that will hopefully be the example to be followed when other similar complexes are to be built.
Many of the schools run by the government are old structures that are not suitable for today’s needs. Over the years, modifications have been made – at a high cost for the taxpayer – to make them more comfortable and accommodating to the thousands of students who spent most of their time in the winter and shoulder months. But there is nothing better than building something from scratch to suit today’s exigencies and, at the same time, serve as a model for the future.
St Benedict’s College in Kirkop was the first such example of a modern school which has environment-friendly features. That successful experience was used to go one step further as the school being built in Qormi will have more characteristics that will enable a better and more efficient use of energy, which will in turn create less damage to the environment and be less costly in financial terms too.
For example, at Qormi, rain falling on the roofs and school grounds will be channelled to several reservoirs and later used as second and third class water for toilets and trees. The lighting system has also been designed to waste as little energy as possible while at the same time making maximum use of natural light.
No doubt, these and other features will be further enhanced in other school projects the government is undertaking or is about to undertake in Verdala, Mosta, Gozo and Pembroke. The experience gained in Kirkop and Qormi will come in handy in this regard.
One important factor in all this is that the link between the environment and education is being highlighted in real terms. Students will have first-hand experience of an environment-friendly structure, one they come in contact with on a daily basis, and this will certainly instill in them a more profound awareness of environmental matters. It is one thing listening to experts talking about the need to protect the environment, and another thing “living” this experience.
It is often said that a change of mentality needs to be instilled in the younger generations, who are more open to change. And therefore having schools built in such a way as the Qormi one is being constructed is the best possible example that one could give.