Have you ever thought of the role that educators play in children’s formative years and the huge responsibility they carry far beyond those years? Have you ever considered the dedication, effort and expenses involved in running a school?
Surely one cannot argue that Church schools have opted to invest in building new primary schools to make more money! In line with Our Lord’s direction, the Church has a key social and moral obligation; educating our future generation is definitely one way the Church can deliver its mission.
By setting up its primary school, St Augustine College will be able to offer better continuity and a smooth transition between primary and secondary education.
This is one of the objectives of the education reform, endorsed by both state and Church. This continuity is especially important now that students no longer sit for common entrance exams and children with mixed abilities are being educated in the same classroom.
These factors are reducing unnecessary pressure on our young ones and at the same time preparing them for the real world.
However, this major transformation must be counteracted by other measures, including ‘catching children young’ and in their formative years so they can be better prepared for the more challenging secondary school years.
Having the primary school close to the secondary school is a sensible and feasible way forward for all concerned, whether from an educational, logistical, financial and operations perspective. Were the two schools to be at different locations, it would be much more difficult to share resources and the impact on the overall environment in Malta would cumulatively be significantly higher.
As regards transport issues resulting from building a primary school for St Augustine’s, these have been analysed by Transport Malta and the impact was deemed acceptable. Incidentally, traffic congestion can be noticed all around Malta and particularly near most schools. So should we close all these schools to reduce traffic congestion?
This situation often occurs for limited and specific times during the day, namely when schools start and end. In the case of St Augustine’s College, the primary school is planning to open its doors around 30 minutes after the secondary school. So rather than increase traffic, the primary school would ‘extend’ the current traffic situation by an additional half-an-hour at most in the morning and at the end of the school day.
Another argument made regarded the blocking of views from homes in the neighbourhood. Up to a couple of years ago I used to have a view of half of Malta from my study. I can no longer do that. Am I disappointed? Of course I am! But in this case, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority was decisive enough to steer away from my personal desires, put everything in the balance and focus more on what is best for the common good.
The fact is that Maltese parents have been given the opportunity and the right to educate their young ones at Church schools. This right cannot now be undermined by denying St Augustine’s College a permit to extend the school. Half-measures are never any good, let alone in such an important field as education.
St Augustine’s College should be permitted to proceed with building its primary school in a timely manner and to equip it for current and future educational needs of children with mixed abilities.
It is Mepa’s duty and responsibility to support this cause.