Student councils call for reopening of post-secondary institutions

Student councils are calling upon the Education Ministry to reopen post-secondary schools, arguing that students should not be "the primary victims" of COVID-19 restrictions. 

The statement, sent on behalf of St Aloysius College, De La Salle College, and St Martin's College, argues that students at post-secondary level should have a right to learn in a school environment, given that the COVID-19 situation has died down.

"We believe that now that the situation is calming down and things are returning to a certain degree of normalcy, we as students should not be the primary victims of these restrictions. As you have reiterated several times, education is very important to our students so it would be much better if this education is done physically," the statement reads.

The statement is addressed to Education Minister Justyne Caruana, Prime Minister Robert Abela, Health Minister Chris Fearne and Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci.

In the statement, the student councils questioned why non-essential shops remain open whilst post-secondary schools remain closed.

"We believe that we should not be the ones to be sacrificed for the irresponsible actions of other sectors and industries," they said. "This damage is being done both educationally and psychologically and physically."

The three councils added that it is easy to lose focus during online lessons, with students spending hours in front of a computer screen.

"It is also worth mentioning the social damage being done to students, who are refusing to meet their friends simply because they are apparently "mature enough" to endure sitting behind a screen for the whole day. We need to integrate with other people as well as primary and secondary students."

"Of course we must do this with absolute respect for the current restrictions and the protocols of the respective educational institutions. However, we believe that discipline is imperative."

They went on to suggest that if any student is caught violating measures out of their own volition, either inside or outside the school building, that student should be prosecuted as if they were in public.