Government ‘guarantees’ education budget will not suffer cuts

The Maltese government has said that the recent budgetary cuts will not affect the education sector.

"In the last few days the Prime Minister has guaranteed that the education budget will not be affected by further cost-cutting decided by Cabinet," the education ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry was reacting to statements made by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo who called on government to clarify whether the recent cuts in government spending related to programmes and initiatives will affect the education sector, including the national curriculum.

"The Nationalist government has made it amply clear that it strongly believes that a heavy investment in education is a crucial part of its policies to eliminate social exclusion, promote employment opportunities and create a competitive economy that can withstand the challenges that arise in today's and tomorrow's global markets," government said.

The education ministry accused Bartolo of  "superficial reading and understanding of a number of policies that are the foundations of today's education sector".

Reacting to Bartolo's criticism, government denied that the curriculum is a one-size-fits-all solution:

"It lays the groundwork for the flexibility that schools urgently require to address the educational needs of their students in the current social multicultural context," government said.

"The comprehensive reform in compulsory education that is being undertaken by the present administration has a number of complementary facets that are all equally important and necessary."

Government said that Bartolo's comments "reveal that he lacks an in-depth understanding of the National Curriculum Framework" adding that a document of the curriculum framework presents a range of scenarios, not only in the timetable models presented but also in how the different subjects and subject loads can be taken.

On the eLearning platform which Bartolo said was not linked to the revised curriculum, government said it will become a powerful tool for personalised teaching and learning processes: "The importance of eLearning in general and not the eLearning platform per se is recognised to the extent that it is presented as a cross-curricular theme rather than a stand alone component."

Government said Bartolo's comments - who said schools should keep in mind the different social realities including the fact that 31% of those in the Inner Harbour area are at risk of poverty - "hurt" the work being carried out by the two colleges within the Inner Harbour area.

 "The PL should be looking at current emerging practices in the Colleges to understand how the educational needs of vulnerable communities are being addressed," government said, adding that the St Margaret and St. Gorg Preca colleges were addressing school absenteeism, school failure, home-school links, student services and enhanced quality in teaching and learning. 

On Bartolo's call for early screening of learners, the ministry said this issue was already acknowledged as a "necessity".