Education: more tax breaks for high achievers

Education has always been a contentious topic, and while parties’ manifestos differ in details, the principle remains the same between them – better infrastructure in schools, better conditions for workers, and the widening of institutions’ role.

Labour Party

Primary and secondary students coming from families with income of €14,300 or less will be entitled to free basic internet service and a free uniform for free.

Primary school students will receive a set of books each year.

Introduce learning support educators in childcare centres.

Introduce ‘top-up’ degree for kindergarten educators to continue in their professional development.

Develop audio-visual material to encourage online reading and teaching of the Maltese language.

Create a centre for literacy and storytelling to develop eloquence in the Maltese language.

Primary Education

A few days before the scholastic year, introductory sessions will be held for parents and children who will be starting their first year in primary and kindergarten. The sessions will help children to familiarise themselves with the school and make new friends, while helping parents understand better what is expected of them.

Start a national debate on homework. The Labour government wants to move towards an education system without the need for homework.

Reintroduce the distribution of fresh fruit and vegetables with more portions. The scheme will be introduced in secondary schools.

Secondary Education

Government will work to reduce the disparity in results between boys and girls, and students who attend different schools.

Initiate discussions to ensure the National curriculum properly prepares students for the workplace. The discussion will revolve around the number of subjects, their relevance and when and how subjects are chosen by students.

Extracurricular and informal activities like sports, arts and culture will be accredited.

Subjects like science, technology, engineering, maths and the STEAM multi-disciplinary approach.

Gradually introduce coding as a subject in primary and secondary schools.

Develop the Malta Visual and Performing Arts School into an academy which offers lessons in performing art, and leads to the accredited qualifications in MQF level 4 and 5.

Civic education and active civil society participation are given more importance.

Modern schools

New primary school in Mosta, and the extension of the Mellieha primary school.

In the first part of the legislature, work will start on the Ħal Għaxaq school, the Zejtun secondary school, and the St George school in Qormi. A sports complex will be built at the Santa Lucija school.

Extensive renovation will continue in Gozitan schools. Renovation work will start at the Rabat sixth form.

Installing of air conditioning in classes and staff rooms in all government schools in Malta and Gozo. An energy audit is also carried out, with the installation of double-glazed windows and roof insulation in schools.

Postsecondary Education

Junior College will start offering courses up to MQF level 5.

Modernise lecture rooms, offices and common areas at the Junior College. The college will also have a new library, multipurpose sports hall, chapel, multi-faith room, art studios and theatre recording facilities. A student village which will incorporate offices for student organisations and the Youth Hub will also be built.

A new open space for the Naxxar Higher Secondary will be created, together with new sport facilities and a new parking area.

New courses will be created for the changing needs of the hospitality industry. Short online courses and the training of superyacht stewards and cabin crew will be introduced.

MCAST

A new trade school institute at MCAST.

A new investment in sport facilities and a bigger auditorium which will have space to host performing arts.

Collaboration between MCAST, the Malta Film Commission and the creative industry will be strengthened to address the needs for skilled workers in local cinematic and television productions. Specialisation opportunities through technical arrangements with foreign education institutions will be carried out.

The MCAST library, spread on two floors, will be opened to the general public. Voluntary organisations will be allowed to make use of the space to host educational and social activities. The public will also be allowed to make use of MCAST’s sports facilities.

Evening classes will be widened and accommodate more adults who wish to enrol.

UOM

Discussions are initiated with stakeholders so that the University Act is completed and presented. The law will be tied with the Education Act and complements the MCAST Act.

Existing scholarship and tax credits will be strengthened. A bigger portion of funds will be allocated to students who specialise in their studies.

The UOM will have a modern sports complex which will have the capacity to provide new facilities for the Physical Education Institute and Performing Arts. The project will include a football pitch, indoor and outdoor tracks for athletes, squash courts, theatres and art studios. The project will also incorporate a 1,000-car underground parking.

Specific funds for researchers who carry out transdisciplinary work in their projects which are of socio-economic and environmental importance to the country.

Educator conditions

The upcoming sectoral and collective agreement will receive significant upgrading in educator wages during the legislature.

Kindergarten assistants and early-years educators in childcare centres will see improvement in wages and working conditions in the upcoming collective agreement.

Dialogue with educators from different sectors will be strengthened.

The centre for independent research will be launched.

Good practices that were started during the COVID-19 pandemic, like online Parents’ Day will be retained.

Reduction of bureaucracy and administrative work for teachers, so they concentrate on teaching.

Supply teachers will see an improvement in salary.

Better help for students

Parents of young people who continue to study after the obligatory age will be given direct help through a tax credit, or €500 a year for three years. Students who live alone will be given the direct sum.

Stipends will increase by 15% in the coming legislature

Students will start benefitting from the cost-of-living compensation through the new mechanism which is separate from the COLA.

Students who benefit from supplementary aid, will also receive a 15% increase. The eligibility for the scheme will also be widened so that more students who come from low-income families will benefit.

A special fund will be created so that students in post-secondary and tertiary institutions who are passing through a difficult time are given the necessary help.

The number of hours a full-time student can work, and still be eligible for stipend will increase to 30 hours.

Reading culture

Work is carried out on all of the country’s public libraries across the country. Spending will include improving the aesthetics of the building, new books, interactive material and digitalization.

Modernization of libraries in class rooms, and more open library boxes and reading sessions.

Educational campaign for parents to encourage their children to read

Inclusive Education

Strengthen the presence of psychologists and youth workers in schools.

Strengthen the Child Development Assessment Unit (CDAU)’s function by consolidating the services which will be offered, with the construction of a new building.

Occupational therapy provided by the CDAU will be extended to schools. Children will be offered the service within a school environment and not a hospital one.

CDAU centre launched in Gozo to offer services which are only being offered in Malta.

Resource centre at every college in Malta and Gozo to better address the needs of disabled students.

Better opportunities

Now that obligatory attendance has reached pre-pandemic levels, more efforts will be made to address absenteeism.

Childcare services, Klabb 3-16, and Skola Sajf will be extended. The same will happen with summer catch-up classes.

Vocational programmes like the Alternative Learning Programme and GEM16+ will be strengthened.

In collaboration with MCAST, evening centres will be opened as trade schools for secondary level.

Nationalist Party

The political strategy of the PN on education will incorporate the work, vision and commitment shown by Church and Private schools in a national strategy which respects their autonomy.

PN government will make invest to make obligatory even more accessible to children stemming from different socio-economic realities.

Improve substantially the work conditions of educators at all levels, which would in turn motivate other people to get into the sector.

PN government will ensure a culture of respecting educators is built in the country, where even the slightest abuse is not tolerated.

Create innovative programmes, within the country/s obligatory education system, to prepare the country for its future needs.

Introduce an system which integrates existing systems at state, church and private schools, to facilitate online teaching at primary and secondary schools.

Introduce schemes to allow parents to deduct from taxable income, any education fees, payments for extracurricular as well as sport-related activities.

Introduce a yearly grant of €300 to parents who send their children to extracurricular programmes at associations which are in line with ESG.

Strengthening education infrastructure

A framework will be introduced to enable more LSE’s to be recruited, with better conditions and more specialist training.

A PN government will ensure that all schools have the necessary trained persons and facilities for children who have a medical emergency with limited delay.

Widen the school lunch scheme at primary and secondary schools.

Encourage more physical activity, while providing students with more sugar-less food and drink.

Drive and excel in digital skills at all levels of education to strengthen the country’s potential in the industry.

Create a new framework for ‘work-based learning’ at secondary level so students with skills in the vocational sector can develop their. talents, and after finishing obligatory education, can continue in a structured apprenticeship programme.

Open a new secondary school in every year of the legislature.

Widen MCAST’s role in a number of programmes aimed at training skills related to new industries, sectors, trades and vocational skills.

Create and carryout an excellence in apprenticeship programme, together with leading operators in the country to create opportunities who are more inclined towards a vocation rather than academia. Industrial operators who invest in the programme and are in line with ESG criteria will be given a fiscal credit of 200%. 35% of the engaged apprentices’ salary will be paid out by government.

Investment in industries of added value

Re-establish the Institute of Tourism Studies in the heart of the country’s tourism hotspot – St Julian’s.

The National Aerospace Education Framework is founded to encourage young people to get into the aviation sector.

Together with academic partners and stakeholders which invested in the maritime sector a PN government will create the Forum for Maritime Education and Training to provide professional training.

Introduce the right for study leave during examination periods for persons in full time employment, while pursuing studies for qualifications at MQF level 5 or higher.

Better assistance to students

Increase student maintenance grants by 25%.

Increase student stipends for students who carry out voluntary work with a registered organisation by 25%.

Students between the age of 16 to 21 will be given €500 vouchers for a sporting or cultural travel abroad.

Strengthen the Get Qualified scheme to provide higher tax credits for courses at MQF Level 5 or higher.

Offer funding for scholarships to Maltese as well as European students residing in Malta, to select institutions operating in Malta that are licensed by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority. This financial assistance is granted equally and under the same conditions to all students regardless of whether they choose a government or private institution.

Improve the tax rebate scheme to cover the following: Full 100% credit on programmes at MQF level 5 (Undergrad Diploma) to encourage more school leavers to update their skills and competences beyond basic education, 85% credit for programmes at MQF level 6 (Bachelor’s Degree), and 70% credit for post graduate studies. The payment will be carried out in tax credits and applies to persons who are studying while in full time employment.

Tertiary education

Create a financial structure to create a dedicated programme for investment in facilities, resources and programmes at the University of Malta, to make it a leading institution in the region. The investment will be part of a master plan on infrastructural investments on the campus.

Unite the academic and research output of MCAST and UOM to drive forward new economic sectors.

Strengthen Further and Higher Education through a strategic plan so they can be the driving force behind the creation of local talent on which the new economic sectors will be created.

Incentivise fulltime researchers who spend at least one-third of their working week teaching academia in higher education to benefit from reduced tax.

Introduce a VAT rebate to compensate for the VAT paid by licensed educational institutions.

Talent Hub

Create a long-term programme for the internationalisation of Maltese talent.

Promote lifelong learning as part of the country’s social fabric.

Open centres of excellence for sport, culture and music.

MCAST Gozo

Opening of new MCAST campus in Gozo, which will increase the number of courses offered in Gozo, as well as courses related to the PN’s 10 new economic sectors.

Gozitan students who pursue studies at Maltese institutions will be given additional subsidies.

Establish the ago-veterinary faculty for both Maltese and Gozitan students who wish to pursue the course.

Gozitan youths will have the option of attending lectures virtually, or from the University campus in Gozo. Efforts will also be made to not have late lectures.

Three new childcare centres in Gozo.

Create a programme to incentivise the opening of language schools for adults and professionals in Gozo.

ADPD

More efforts will be carried out on early years education, which will include better conditions for educators, rationalisation of curriculum and the engagement of more male educators to help in breaking stereotypes.

A creative, critical and consultative process which would lead to pinpointing positive practices which were started during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investment in the psych-social area of the education sector.

Investment in education

It should be illegal for services offered to disabled children to be more expensive than services offered to other children and youths

Individualised educative plans which continue beyond the obligatory education age, and in continuity with it, will be introduced to prevent the significant work carried out in schools is not lost

Work conditions for educators should improved

The important work carried out by educators should be showcased to attract more people to the sector

A curriculum with a wider vision

Curriculum should include critical thinking, and treat LGBTIQ+ families objectively

Different religions should be taught together, and not having students split in different classes according to their beliefs.

More emphasis will be made on STEAM subjects

Schools should be given the necessary help to ensure security around schools buildings when children are arriving and leaving

Walking busses should be introduced to reduce dependency on cars

Before air conditioning is introduced in classes, a detailed study should be carried out to ensure schools are more comfortable for educators and students

MCAST and UOM

In the coming years there should also be an emphasis on the green transition in all areas of study and in research on delivering the Green Deal. MCAST shall develop into a Technical and Applied Sciences University as similar institutions in the European Union.

Student elections at all institutions should be revamped so they are truly representative of the whole student body

The appointment of the Rector of the UM and of the Principal of MCAST shall be through an election, with the eligible electors being all registered staff and students of these institutions

UOM and MCAST stipends should be increased gradually and overtime reach 50% of the minimum wage