Children cannot afford to lose any more of their education due to the incompetence and lack of preparation from the Education Ministry, the Nationalist Party said in a statement on Wednesday.

A few days away from the opening of schools and six months after the start of the pandemic, the Government has been caught completely unprepared for the reopening of schools, the PN said.

“It lacked a Plan A to provide education in schools and was not well prepared with a Plan B to offer a decent education remotely. The education of our children and their health and safety, plus that of their educators is an absolute priority in our country. Our children cannot afford to miss any more learning due to the incompetence and unpreparedness of the Ministry of Education.”

The statement comes after both the Malta Union of Teachers and the Union of Professional Educators called for the government to keep schools closed due to the rise in numbers of coronavirus cases.

On Wednesday the Health Authorities confirmed a record of 106 new cases.

“It is clear that schools are not yet ready to physically open and on the other hand it is not clear what serious preparations have been made to make remote learning more effective than it was in the previous months.”

The Opposition highlighted that due to the lack of control over the progress of the pandemic in the recent weeks, particularly showing the numbers reached on Wednesday and the lack of adequate and timely intervention by the Education Ministry, was of a concern to parents and educator’s unions.

The statement highlights that the Opposition has been appealing for clear plans to cater for the different school scenarios for months. “Six months later, the Government does not have the same excuses it did back in March. The Opposition stands by its position communicated weeks ago where it was clearly stated that we need to do our best to reopen our schools but don’t open at all costs.”