In line with its evident strategy of opening many fronts at one go, the Labour government has started two separate consultation processes to assess whether school uniforms should remain as they are, be simplified or abolished completely, and another one about the present college line-ups and whether these should change.

First of all, and without necessarily referring to this particular ministry, I really hope that all these consultation processes being launched by the different ministries are not just smokescreens for decisions that have already been taken. To be fair to Minister Bartolo, he did remark that so far the feedback he received favoured the status quo, which I take to mean that ultimately things may remain as is. However, seeing this happening across the different ministries does make me suspicious.

In any case, I know for a fact that the original circular announcing a change in the college line-up as from the coming scholastic year, shocked many teachers, parents and students. The negative reaction seems to have led the minister to retract and ultimately to open a consultative process to indicate that any changes would come into effect as from next year.

Many expressed surprise how, for example, it is being proposed to allocate Floriana students to St Clare College, which also includes Mellieha. The implications of changing colleges in a drastic way are quite vast. It affects the school uniform with added costs to parents, school transport, the school’s corporate image and may also have an impact on the student’s educational experience as a whole. This does not mean that the college system is perfect and should not be touched. It needs constant review and assessment. However, the Minister would be wise to tread carefully and not in haste. He should be looking for the essence rather than waste precious time on cosmetic changes. Changing a college line-up or a college name does not make a lot of sense. It would cause more damage than good at this stage. 

Regarding the uniform issue we also need to move carefully not to send the wrong message. It is true that generally the cost of uniforms tend to be on the high side, but they are also part of the quality leap government schools managed to do in recent years. This improvement goes hand in hand with other initiatives taken, such as the creation of a supporting structure within the colleges through the employment of prefects of discipline, precinct officers, social workers, psychologists, through the revision of the national curriculum, through the introduction of the e-learning platform and so on. All this and more helped immensely in raising the standards of public schools so much so that today they are at the forefront of the local educational system.

Doing away with uniforms would be a mistake. It is as bad as doing without all kind of competition in education. Pupils and students would eventually grow into men and women who have to go out and seek a job and a career for which hundreds of others would be vying as well. They would also eventually take up a career that might require them to wear a uniform. How would students who grow up in a system where there is no need to make an effort to pass examinations, no need to wear a uniform and no need to do this and that, perform in the real world? Would they be better employees, would they be better citizens?

My input on the matter should not be interpreted as a defence of what has been done by a Nationalist government. Neither should it be taken as an indication that I fear change. On the contrary, it is good to be innovative and to try out new initiatives, especially following real consultations with all stakeholders. Piloting co-education in one particular college was a move in the right direction. I am sure it was not thought out overnight since this subject has been debated for quite a while. After all, this “experiment” has already been tried out in the sport college, which as far as I know did not cause great upheavals.

Minister Bartolo also announced that as from the next scholastic year the government will be piloting tablets in schools. Fair enough, as this was an electoral pledge that has to be honoured. However, I do hope that the ministry does not distribute tablets without first having developed the necessary educational software to go with it. If used well, they could serve as a useful tool to enhance the child’s educational experience. However, without the right strategy we would be throwing money down the drain, which would then only serve to make people doubt the value of such an initiative.

Mr Bonnici is the Opposition spokesperson for sustainable development, the environment and climate change

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