We've been hearing a lot and ad nauseam from all sides about institutions and how we need to let them operate freely. In reality, few really believe in this principle or in "allowing" institutions to function independently... perhaps nobody. People are prepared to believe in the principle for as long as they are sure that the management of such bodies will be following the direction that is to their liking.  This is done mainly by making sure that their administration is delegated to people who are politically/socially/family-wise/professionally friends of friends of whoever appoints them.

An alternative would be for mediocre appointees to be nominated to run an institution, and they'd be all set to accept the suggestions made to them by who appoints them. Under all administrations, the independent existence of institutions has been problematic. But with the passage of time, it can now be said even more that their "dependent" administration could also give rise to grave problems.

***

TRADE SCHOOLS

It has been said that if trade schools are reopened, their students would  again end up "ghettoised".

I'm sorry but this is what would happen if trade schools, when reopened, are treated the same way they were between 1987 and 2001, by PN administrations. Then, they were given low priority in the island's educational plans, compared to what was being done for the University and private schools. Investment in trade schools was held back - teaching and curricula were not updated or modernised - the prestige of attending or teaching in trade schools was allowed to decay and vanish.

In Germany today, vocational schools train up to half of all young students and are considered extremely prestigious institutions. In the US, more and more students have become interested in trade schools and are enrolling in them, because academic studies while becoming costlier, are not opening the door to worthwhile jobs. 

In this sector, the real problem here has been that right wing governments always considered trade schools as third class institutions. In the 1960s, they even introduced the teaching of Latin in the curriculum of the secondary technical school at Paola, in order to make it more "respectable". By the beginning of this century they were closing the schools, like they did with the ship repair yards.

***

ATTACKS FROM MOSCOW

The case of the drone loaded with explosives that was found near Ukrainian aircraft in Leipzig airport understandably triggered furious controversies in Germany. A disastrous explosion was prevented by a fluke. After a deep investigation, the German security services concluded that the drone had been activated by Russian agents. The German government imposed retaliatory measures on Russia. While denying all responsibility for what had happened, the latter decreed its own sanctions against Germany, which meanwhile reiterated its full support for the Ukraine. Relations between the two countries have never been so bad. The German chancellor declared that while the two sides are not in a state of war, neither are they in a state of peace.

The whole issue is complicated by an earlier episode: When the Ukraine war had just started, the underwater pipeline which carried natural gas from Russia to Germany was sabotaged. At the time, Russia was blamed. Later it turned out that the sabotage had been committed by a Ukrainian commando unit.