It is not true that students from the Ta' Paris Boys Secondary will be transferred to Sta Venera, as claimed by the Malta Union of Teachers yesterday, the Education Ministry said.

It said in a statement that the government was implementing its promise of building a new school each year and, as a result, some schools will no longer take students.

These students would be moved to the new schools or others for a transitional period.

The Educational Services Directorate had been planning these moves for a number of years to inconvenience students and those who worked with them as little as possible.

The ministry said that the Sta Venera School currently had Form 1 and 2 students. Next year, they would move on to Forms 2 and 3 and new Form 1 students from primary schools within the college would be taken in.

The directorate had already worked with the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools for all students to have all the necessary facilities and there was enough space for all students. Moreover, all the necessary infrastructural work was to be carried out, including work on a new laboratory.

As for the move of Marsa students to Zebbug, the ministry said that for many years both teachers and parents complained about the bad state the school was in.

So, as from next year, these students were being moved to Zebbug.

It was not true, the ministry said, that such moves increased absenteeism and this was also not expected to increase with the move of Marsa students to Zebbug.