Editorial: Wardija Resource Centre – answers needed

When a school does not take in new students for two consecutive years, the assumption is clear.

Yet, the government insists that Wardija Resource Centre – officially called the Dun Manwel Attard Resource Centre in Wardija – will “remain open”. 

Parents of teenagers with intellectual disabilities – many of whom had been waiting for the opportunity to enrol their children there – say they are not convinced by such assurances.

Recent replies to a parliamentary question have only reinforced their suspicions.

For months, questions were being asked – by Nationalist MP Graziella Galea – about the future of Wardija. Several times, the response was that a reply would be given at a later date. When the reply finally came on March 3, it did not shed much light on the situation. 

Instead, it included an attachment titled Entry Procedure into Schools Offering Specialised Services in Malta and Gozo – a form issued on January 27 with a link that had expired on February 27.

In other words, the “reply” was an expired link.

It is hardly surprising that a parent has taken the initiative to launch a parliamentary petition calling for transparency about the planned future of the Wardija Resource Centre.

Parents are only hearing vague terms being passed off as assurances that, however, leave ample room for interpretation – and for anxiety

The parent, Rebecca Scicluna, expressed “deep concern” about the future of the centre and the wider implications for students with disabilities aged 16 and over. She notes that parents “cannot accept vague assurances while the pathway these students rely on is systematically dismantled”.

The current situation, she said, “signals a regression in inclusive education and creates a real risk of these young people being left without meaningful learning opportunities, appropriate supports, or pathways to independence.”

These concerns did not arise overnight.

The issue surrounding Wardija has been brewing for over a year. At the time, Karen Buttigieg, president of the National Parents Society for Persons with Disability, warned that there was no clear vision for the education of young people with disabilities. The challenge becomes even greater after compulsory education ends at 16. Until recently, one pathway was the Wardija Resource Centre, which serves students aged 16 to 22.

Another option is through MCAST, which offers a two-year course. However, students are expected to be largely independent – a requirement that excludes many.

Then, Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia announced that a new state-of-the-art campus in Pembroke would host a programme known as ‘Life Map’, designed “to complement” the services offered at Wardija.

Soon afterwards, however, the Union of Professional Educators said it had been informed of an allegedly secretive plan to phase out the resource centre. In September, the education minister insisted that Wardija would remain open for years to come.

Yet, for the second year, the student application form for specialised services does not list Wardija as an option.

Again, a ministry spokesperson stressed that “students currently attending” Wardija will be able to continue doing so.

Parents are only hearing vague terms being passed off as assurances that, however, leave ample room for interpretation – and for anxiety.

Parents who believe that the Life Map programme may not be suitable for their children – because it focuses more on therapeutic support and less on educational pathways – want the option that Wardija once provided. They key word: option.

Instead, they are left with uncertainty.

If the government truly believes in the concept of a ‘Life Map’ it must begin by listening to the people most affected: teens with intellectual disabilities and their parents.

Because that’s all they want – to be able to have real options to map out their lives based on what they need... as opposed to having options wiped out one application at a time.