Labour leader Alfred Sant yesterday changed his position on the Malta Labour Party’s proposal to introduce a reception class, saying that private schools would not be forced to implement the concept.

Until last Friday, Dr Sant was insisting on TVM’s Xarabank that the reception class idea Labour was suggesting – an extra year of schooling in between kindergarten and primary school – would be introduced across the whole education spectrum.

Since the start of the election campaign, Dr Sant had repeatedly explained that Labour’s idea was to introduce an extra year to give all children a more solid foundation before they start primary schooling.

Yesterday, however, when directly challenged by PN candidate Georg Sapiano, representing his party on Bondiplus, Dr Sant reversed his position and said that private schools would not be obliged to implement the system.

At that point, Dr Sapiano criticised the MLP for making the reception class a penalty imposed upon those who cannot afford to send their children to private schools. He argued that “people who would not like their children to spend an extra year in school now either had to pay for their children’s schooling or the children themselves would have to pay with a year of their lives”.

Dr Sant said a Labour government would discuss the proposal with parents and teaching professionals before introducing it. He conceded however that private schools wishing to opt out may do so.