Educators must be given the space to plan and work independently, as their wellbeing - along with that of students - should be a central pillar of any national education strategy, said Sandra Gauci, Chairperson, and Mario Mallia, Deputy Secretary General of ADPD - The Green Party. They criticised the Ministry of Education's excessive control, which they said stifles schools' autonomy and demotivates educators who feel powerless to shape their own environment.

Citing the recent "fish lunches" initiative - where schools are expected to serve fish on Fridays to expose students to different varieties - ADPD questioned whether schools had been consulted. The party argued that this initiative, described by the Finance Minister as promoting fish consumption, instead creates unnecessary logistical burdens for schools.

Gauci and Mallia said that had schools been consulted, they would have suggested using the funds to strengthen overstretched psychosocial teams that support students' mental health and wellbeing, or to address basic needs such as hunger, care, and infrastructure issues like weak Wi-Fi and leaking roofs. Many children attend school without essentials, they noted, and schools are best positioned to determine how resources can meet such realities.

Gauci stressed that public funds should be allocated according to real needs, not for "ribbon-cutting" exercises or to serve private interests like the fish industry. Schools, she said, should not be used to expand commercial markets.

Mallia added that while initiatives such as the Education Foresight Forum aim to involve educators in shaping educational policy, top-down measures like the fish lunch scheme undermine such participation. ADPD concluded that schools must have the freedom to identify their priorities and implement their own solutions for quality education.