The Church said yesterday it is aiming to change the criteria regulating entry to its schools. Entry to Church schools, it said, would no longer be on the basis of an examination. This new system will start as soon as the entrance examinations to join the Junior Lyceum will be removed.

The Church said talks are being held so that the schools would see how best to meet the challenge and draw up criteria and procedures regulating entry to Church schools. When the process is completed, a public announcement would be made explaining the changes.

The Church was commenting on the education reform which is under way. Archbishop Mgr Pawl Cremona, OP, Gozo Bishop Mario Grech, and the provincials, superiors and heads of Church schools met on Wednesday to discuss the reform.

Other meetings have been held, even by the bishops, to discuss the reform and the limits of the existing education system became obvious, the Church said. It is possible for the system to move ahead not only because other countries had succeeded in doing this but also because in Malta there already were schools, including many Church schools, which already do not have a selective examination at the end of the primary sector.

As a Church, the Curia statement said, they believed they should adopt the reform because it was more socially just.

Everyone had to be fully committed for the reform to succeed, the statement said. Educating students of different abilities and inclinations was not easy and the schools which already did so knew what was needed for the aim to be achieved.

The difficulty was bigger where the schools, teachers, students and parents were used to a system where students were selected according to their ability.

Everything necessary should be done and the necessary assistance should be given for this just and difficult move to be implemented.