MLP running 'destructive' campaign on education

Education Minister Louis Galea yesterday said the destructive and negative campaign about education being conducted by the Labour Party and its leader was harming those who were dedicating their time in the field.

Speaking at a news conference, he said the MLP's campaign was based on a distortion of truth, misinformation and the twisting and manipulation of statistics for partisan ends.

"When the Labour leader stands in front of local schools, as he did yesterday, to destructively criticise the educational system, he is harming the country and the efforts being put in by teachers and parents towards the education of their children," Dr Galea said.

The facts showed that Malta had one of the best educational systems in the world, he said.

The government budget for education had nearly reached Lm100 million, which was Lm30 million more than the Labour government had allocated in 1998. The government had opened Maltese schools to information technology, investing Lm8 million over the past few years.

Dr Galea said the government had launched an important reform in technical education since the former system used to create ghettos of children in unequipped trade schools. This year alone, Lm1.5 million were being invested in the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.