While most students were deservedly enjoying their summer vacation, the educational authorities were busy with the programming of the coming scholastic year and the maintenance that is now routinely carried out in most schools. School doors reopen tomorrow for circa 30,000 students for primary and secondary level pupils while over 20,000 students will commence or continue their studies in Higher Education institutions the following week.
Those starting school tomorrow will not only find schools well equipped with the latest technology but they will also find qualified and dedicated teachers welcoming them to the new scholastic year.
Another New School at Tal-Handaq
State of the art school facilities with interactive white boards, computers, science laboratories and sports facilities amongst others have become the order of the day for many of our students, to the extent that things are sometimes being taken for granted. We should never forget the vision, the challenge and the commitment it takes to reach and to keep these standards.
During this legislature Government has kept firmly to its commitment of providing quality education to one and all through a two pronged approach: building a new school every year while carrying out adequate maintenance in the other schools and increasing the complement of qualified teachers and professional staff. The latter have been increased by over a 1000 in the last four years while at the same time four new schools have been opened at Cottonera, Pembroke, Mosta and Gozo.
The latest in the list will be that at Tal-Handaq which had its foundation stone laid by the Prime Minister on April 28, 2011. The new St Ignatius Girls Secondary School, built adjacent to the boys’ secondary inaugurated in 2007, is expected to take its first students tomorrow. St Ignatius will now become a fully-fledged Educational College as it now comprises two newly built schools for both its male and female secondary students, four primary schools, three Childcare Centres, and two 3-16 clubs. We are still awaiting Mepa permits for St Ignatius College to have its own indoor sports complex as outdoor facilities are already in place even if they will be increased to accommodate the demand created by the new girls secondary. Of course St Ignatius students will not only receive their education in an excellent physical environment but they will also receive an education by dedicated teachers and professionals spearheaded by the very able College Principal.
The national sports school
As a matter of fact this year, we will be opening two new schools. In addition to the one in Qormi we are opening another one in Kirkop. The National School of Sports will form part of the St Benedict’s college and will be welcoming its first 38 Form 1 students tomorrow.
The opening of this school is another milestone both in education and sports. It is a milestone in education because we are yet again expanding the opportunities provided for our children to succeed. It is a milestone in sport because the school is set to be the leader in the development and training of high performance students in their path to become athletes of international standing. Of course we will remain a country with a population of 400,000 circa, with all the obvious limitations, but we will make sure to get the best out of each and every talent. Hopefully we will soon follow this philosophy with the setting up of the National Arts College.
The National Sports School is set to lead children to succeed in both sports and academic education. So these secondary school students will have all the academic training required by Higher Education Institutions while being flexible enough to meet the particular exigencies of sports training.
The concept of introducing pupils to a dual career path is fundamental to this project. As the life of an athlete has a relatively short shelf life the students will be encouraged to pursue a second career for the time when their sporting career comes to an end or even parallel to it if the case may be.
This National Sports School is part of a chain of initiatives forming part of a well thought-out strategy, which includes our recent launching of the sports scholarships and the setting up of the AFM Sports Unit.
For all our children to succeed
Good early childhood, primary and secondary education are the foundation of successful qualified and skilful generations. Actions speak louder than words and today we are proud that more than 73 per cent are continuing with their post-secondary studies, which is almost double the figure we inherited in 1998.
Clyde Puli is parliamentary secretary for youth and sport