The government is delivering immense advantages for Maltese children from the moment their parents decide to send them to child care centres right through to the completion of their studies, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday in an interview on Radio 101.

With the economy now on a sound footing, the government is investing heavily in education so as to give students the freedom of choice in their own futures and careers, while at the same time encouraging students to further their studies.

Today, Dr Gonzi said, students and youths have more choices than ever before in advancing their studies in a number of areas and in institutions such as MCAST, junior college, the Institute for Tourism Studies, university, as well as masters and doctorates programmes with the help of government scholarships.

Through the investments the government is attracting to the country, new and numerous job opportunities are opening up for youths as well as workers currently in the labour market, Dr Gonzi said, adding that children need to be assured work with favourable conditions and wages.

As such, quality education was at the centre of the Nationalist Party’s policies, Dr Gonzi said, referring to the fact that more students are today completing their studies and more females are also continuing their studies after fifth form – so much so that 56 per cent of university students are female. Such students would also reap the benefits of the PN’s policies in terms of job opportunities once they have completed their studies.

Referring to how MCAST had opened its doors in 2000, Dr Gonzi remarked how the Malta Labour Party between 1996 and 1998 had abandoned plans to create the institute, which has proved to be a great success.

There were also certain sections of the labour market that needed more workers, such as in the area of financial services, where there are many students now in their second year of studies. Firms were waiting for such students to complete their courses so they could employ them and even finance the furthering of their studies once employed.

Dr Gonzi also explained how at the moment Malta was witnessing a record levels of employment, with more than 140,000 people employed full time and another 46,000 working part-time – resulting in far more people in employment than had been the case when the MLP was last in government.

In addition to the government’s policies of generating investment in the country, from both local and foreign investors, with a view to creating more employment opportunities, the government’s plans for the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett would also create new jobs. The same, he added, could be said for the SmartCity project, on which work has already begun.

In addition to new job prospects, the harbour projects would also attract more tourists to Malta, meaning students graduating from the Institute for Tourism Studies would have more and more opportunities to contribute to the vital sector.

This year, Dr Gonzi observed, had been one of the best ever for tourism. A year ago, he recalled, opposition leader Alfred Sant had made a meal of the fact that the sector had been suffering. This year, however, Dr Sant has said nothing of the successes. Dr Gonzi also recalled how Dr Sant had been misguided in resisting the introduction of low cost carriers to Malta, which had proved a boon for the sector this year.

The Maltese people should judge the three years in which he has served as prime minister by facts, Dr Gonzi said, adding that the government’s work over the period had produced concrete results. On the other hand, he said, the 16 years in which Alfred Sant has led the MLP has been characterised by erroneous decisions and advice. Dr Gonzi referred to Dr Sant’s urging to devalue the Maltese lira, standing against the low cost carriers and European Union membership despite the funding derived for Malta.