An agreement between the government, through the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research, and Innovation, and the Association of Independent Schools (ISA) will result in a direct investment in students of €26,875,940 following Cabinet approval on Tuesday, the government said.

This agreement will ensure stability in the sector, the government said.

Last July, the Association of Independent Schools had reached out to the ministry to express its concerns about the significant and abnormal increase in fees that parents of children attending independent schools were going to face at the start of the upcoming school year. This increase in fees is attributed to recent salary adjustments under the sectoral agreement negotiated with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT), which covers educators in the public sector.

Currently, independent schools host 8,244 students and employ 967 educators.

Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research, and Innovation, Clifton Grima, announced this during a press conference held on Tuesday. He said: "With this agreement, we are proving with action that we want the best educational environment for the children of this country. This investment protects families from increases in their children's educational fees and ensures that there remains the possibility of free choice in the educational path of Maltese and Gozitan students. It is also a confirmation of the respect we have for educators across various sectors of our country."

Through this agreement, the government will provide significant financial assistance to independent schools until 2029, ensuring that parents do not experience more than a 6% to 12% increase in fees per year, which has been the practice of independent schools in recent years. Thus, through this intervention, the government will prevent families from being hit by substantial increases in their children's fees.

Among other things, the agreement covers the one-time allowance of €1,000 given to each educator under the sectoral agreement and the €1,000 allowance given to primary educators. It also covers all back payments owed through the Sectoral Agreement to educators, retroactive from January 2023. There will also be a substantial increase in the per capita allocation for independent schools over the next five years.