Maltese students without qualifications will be condemned to cheap labour - PN

The Nationalist Party has hit out at the government over its handling of the education sector, arguing that Maltese students without qualifications will be condemned to cheap labour.

Speaking in front of an unfinished school in Qawra, Opposition leader Adrian Delia said that it was meant to be opened years ago, and that a country that does not invest in children does not move forward.

Delia, referred to Malta’s high early school leaving rate compared to other EU countries, together with its literacy rate.

“Our only resource is our people,” Delia said, adding that “unfortunately, it is clear that the government does not believe in education and does not invest in children.”

He spoke of Malta’s literacy rates not advancing, adding that while past governments had built a school every year, the current government is introducing a new classroom container each week.

Delia also took aim at the government over its treatment of teachers, arguing that they are not being treated with dignity and are seen as a cost, and not an investment. He said that the PN is committed to making education a priority, and that the party’s pre-budget document is a testament to this.

PN secretary general Clyde Puli also spoke of the need for there to be a long-term plan to solve the education crisis. He said that mobile classrooms that were meant to be a temporary solution have become a longterm problem. He said it was necessary for the government to figure out how many students are in Malta and predict how many more there will be in the coming years in order to properly allocate resources to the education sector.

He said that the government has no plan as to how to retain teachers and to replace those retiring.