Wednesday week students will start their journey into the coming scholastic year. Children and students attending compulsory education in State Schools will start schooling in different dates, according to their year group, over a period of not more than one week starting from 7 October, 2020. While the first day of school will be different according to the respective year group, by 14 October, all students will be back to school.
During the past days I visited schools across the islands where I could see that all measures required by the Health Authorities for the re-opening of our schools and to safeguard our children and educators are in place, according to the protocols published.
We are determined and worked hard so that our children will return to school in an environment which with all the measures taken, will drastically minimise the risk from infection.
Our educators have now been back to their place of work since Monday last, going through the preparations to welcome their students. During the visits I sensed and was also told about the eager expectation of these educators to reunite with our children, their students. As are eager the students to go back to school, continue with their education and participate, albeit with COVID-19 imposed restrictions, in the necessary school-life.
Our children deserve the best education possible, that is, education in the classroom, and we are all committed to deliver this best education possible, even under the present circumstances. Even though we are living what is being described as “the new normality”, we will do so and that is why we have been implementing more than 50 measures as indicated by the Health Authorities, so that even in this unprecedented year, we honour our commitment.
This week I followed a very interesting interview by paediatrician Dr Robert Cassar who joined several other professionals in their field of work and stated that it is important that children return to school. Apart from saying that the rate of spread of the virus amongst children as well as from children to adults is less than one percent, he delved about the importance of children attending school. Dr Cassar explained that the chances of children spreading the virus to an adult - talking about school not children to their parents or siblings – or spreading the virus from a child to a child or from a child to an adult at school is also less than one percent.
The children’s place is in the classroom. They need and want to learn as much as possible – together with their peers. They also need to share school life with other children and with their educators.
However, the more than 50 measures implemented are there to safeguard as best possible our educators and children when at school. Responsibility starts at the children’s home. And this responsibility is taken over by us once children come past the school gate. We are taking this responsibility square on our shoulders – not that we did not do this pre-COVID – but we are doing our utmost to see that as always, your children will be our children inside the school walls. We are there to protect them, give them the best education possible, and keep them safe.
That’s why we went further than that requested from us, and had each and every school checked by independent assessors – who certified that all state schools on these islands have implemented all the measures set by the Health Authorities for us to be able to re-open the schools.
Let’s pull the rope together. Cooperation is of the highest importance. I strongly believe that together with all those concerned, the educators, the stakeholders, the parents – we can continue giving our children their necessary education and make this coming scholastic year another exciting journey for them.
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Two important dates are coming ahead. Two inaugurations. Two projects with millions invested in them to benefit our children and their educators. The inauguration of the new Qawra School and the inauguration of the new extension of the Zejtun Secondary School.
Amid the hard work of the past weeks and months leading to the re-opening of our schools for the coming scholastic year, we were also taking care of these mentioned projects – apart from several others.
It is now time to reap the fruit of our toil. The Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools have now left the two new buildings after months of hard work – and have passed on the keys of the buildings to their new “owners”. These being the educators who will be working from them. Both will eventually fill up with smiling faces – when the students start returning to school in the coming days.
And smiling faces they will have. Not only because these students will be back to their classrooms, reunited with their educators but also because they will be back in a modern and new environment which will definitely make their schooling days something to remember for years.
Since last March we have utilised the school-down time to embellish, maintain and regenerate our schools. Our children not only need education in their classrooms, but they also need to have the best possible environment where to get this education.
Where possible we are building new schools. Where space is a restriction we are embellishing the existing schools. Where space permits, we are building new blocks.
The new Qawra Primary School – a €13 million project - will cater for 500 students and will complement the existing school in St Paul’s Bay which will still continue to operate.
The modernisation of the Żejtun Secondary School and the building of the new modern extension blocks is an investment of another €5 million - an additional floor on each existing school block, resulting in an additional 13 normal classrooms as well as 8 science labs, 2 classrooms for home economics, and engineering technology classrooms.
As a Government, we are committed to better the lives of our students so that they would look at education as a determining factor which constructs their own future. And, yes, our schools are providing a better environment and educational experience.