As soon as the world got to grip with the challenges and threats that the COVID-19 outbreak was going to put upon us all, we immediately started discussions, and consequently reached agreement among all major stakeholders, about the way forward in the Education Sector.
The world-wide situation was pointing to hard measures that had to be taken to safeguard the communities' health and to stop the spread of the virus. Apart from internal meetings, I also actively participated through virtual meetings - due to worldwide travel restrictions - with my counterparts, the EU Education Ministers, with discussions on how this pandemic was affecting traditional teaching in schools, but more importantly, a discussion ensued about what needed to be done for the rest of the scholastic year. During these meetings, one thing stood out - how our country was one of the first in its preparedness to launch online learning.
We had already planned and started implementing online teaching and learning through the available Ministry and Education Department sites, but had started planning on how to better this service. The commitment by all the educators involved in the process, teamed up with the expertise of our dedicated IT employees gave results.
So much so, that I was pleased to launch the new online portal, teleskola.mt, which includes over 1000 lessons and activities for students from early ages up till the end of secondary school.
The portal's aim is to facilitate finding lessons from each scholastic year and each subject for students, parents and teachers. The process includes first finding the level, then the year, and finally choosing the subject, so that lessons will be suitable for everyone's particular needs.
As I said, from the first day of the temporary closure of schools the ministry made sure that online resources are provided to students and parents so that they can make use of them. Now, this provision of resources is being improved, both in terms of interactive facilities and in terms of content available. As a result, teleskola.mt was created.
The portal consists of suitable material for children still in kindergarden, as well as primary and secondary students, in all subjects. It is also possible to leave comments on a lesson in order to communicate with the teacher. One can find a wide array of resources in connection to the syllabus used by all schools; state schools, church schools and independent schools.
However, I always kept in mind what I had stated at the very beginning of this outbreak, that no student will be orphaned from education, especially as this worldwide situation is certainly not our children's fault.
Parents whose children suffer from dyslexia can also make use of this portal in order to communicate with experts, who can help them in their children's learning processes. Teleskola.mt also has easy tools in order to facilitate communication between students, parents and educators.
I appreciate the work done by all educators involved in the process, as it was only thanks to their help and dedication that this portal was planned and uploaded. This is the first time that, through such a portal, educational officers, heads of departments and teachers can share their resources with all students.
This portal will continue to be active, with frequent additions that can only be possible through the help of dedicated educators who have their students' best interests at heart.
+++
Government will be presenting a parliamentary resolution for the transfer of the University Campus in Valletta, the University Campus in Marsaxlokk, the University Junior College in Msida and the University Campus in Xewkija, Gozo, currently owned by the Lands Authority, in favour of the University of Malta.
The parliamentary resolution will follow a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by the Government of Malta and the University of Malta last year.
The property will be transferred by a title of perpetual emphyteusis and will provide that the properties shall be used primarily for educational and ancillary purposes. The property in Marsaxlokk has an area of 12,700 m2, while that housing the Junior College has an area of 4,400 m2. The property in Gozo has an area of 2,500 m2 and the Valletta Campus comprises properties contiguous to the historic educational complex.
Together with my colleagues and the Rector of the University of Malta, I visited the Valletta Campus and stressed the importance of this transfer of property in favour of the University of Malta. The Valletta Campus was the original Campus of the University of Malta and dates back to the end of the 16th century.
The transfer of the four site areas and buildings is a strong commitment by the government in favour of the continuous advancement the University. The transfer of properties will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, steps towards better tertiary education for future generations. The ultimate beneficiaries of this agreement will be the students themselves.
+++
Not that we need a particular day to thank all the countries' workers. However, today it's International Workers' Day, a day that celebrates not only the workers' struggles during the last century but also the great achievements in the Labour and Employment sectors.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic directly affected this sector, but this Government implemented unprecedented measures to sustain the workers and their place of work.
All the very best to all those who contribute to the economic wellbeing of our country.