MP calls for reassessment of spending priorities

Opposition education spokesman Carmelo Abela said yesterday that a reassessment of spending priorities in the education sector needed to be made. For while the government was boasting that spending on this sector was comparable or higher than the EU average as a percentage of GDP and the government budget, results were not matching the outlay. Furthermore, the proportion of spending going on primary and secondary schools and the university was actually much lower than in the EU.

Mr Abela said during the budget debate that education was key for economic progress. Thus, the Labour government of 1996 spent eight times more on education than the previous government.

The 2006 budget showed expenditure of Lm108 million on education, Lm2 million less than this year. Education would absorb 10.6 per cent of government spending, from 11.13 per cent this year. But what was more important was the result of this spending because, despite everything, Malta was still at the bottom of the Lisbon Agenda scoreboard.

Mr Abela said MCAST students were finding it difficult to find sponsors so that they could continue with their education.

And Malta was increasingly feeling the need for vocational secondary schools where learning would be by doing in sectors such as informatics, basic engineering and agriculture.

Mr Abela said that the Maltese government scholarships scheme announced in the budget was a positive measure.

But at the same time the budget for the individual schools needed to be raised, especially for the purchase of books, equipment and upkeep.

And even though the number of students in post-secondary education had increased, why were a number of students still illiterate when they left school?

Why had the IT vote dropped from Lm600,000 to Lm430,000? ICT in education was becoming more and more important in Europe but funding dedicated to this sector in Malta were being reduced year after year. Speaking on capital expenditure for schools, Mr Abela observed that the allocation now reached Lm3.7 million, while the Labour government had allocated Lm4.1 million.

It also appeared that works planned for various schools, notably Mikiel Anton Vassalli Boys' Junior Lyceum, the Verdala Boys' Junior Lyceum, the Pembroke Primary School and the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School had fallen back.

At the Higher Secondary School, the problem of overcrowding was getting more serious, pointing to the need for a second building.

The minister had promised that a master plan on the modernisation of schools would be made public, but this had never happened.

Mr Abela reiterated his criticism of the stipends reform and the way how payments to many students had been reduced. The savings should, at least, be invested in education. The government had in September promised the setting up of a fund for students' organisations. What had become of this measure?

On the national Higher Education Commission, Mr Abela said one could not have a commission that was more intent on attacking the university instead of creating a link between education and the ETC, among others. Of course, this did not mean that there was nothing to improve at the university.

A major shortcoming of the budget was that it did not say anything about the national minimum curriculum. There were those who said that over 80 per cent of the curriculum had not been implemented. So why had it now been pushed aside?

In his speech Mr Abela insisted that Malta needed to give more importance to science and technology. Unfortunately, the direction of the Malta Council for Science and Technology was still uncertain. Malta was at the bottom in the EU lists on graduates in science and technology with only 2.7 per cent graduating in this sector compared to the 10.9 per cent in the EU. For the situation to improve, the subject had to start being taught from primary level, Mr Abela said.

Justyne Caruana, opposition spokesman on young people and sports said there was a crisis in the youth job sector. The government claimed success in attracting foreign investment, yet young people had huge problems to find a job. Many, especially in Gozo, wished to emigrate.

She said that the young people's section within the Education Ministry was not working efficiently and the minister should see that it did. More services could be offered to young people to create more networking, for example. In view of the European Youth Pact, government policies should be more youth friendly.

Referring to the Youth Action Programme, Dr Caruana said Maltese youths and organisations should have all necessary help to take part in activities.

The government should also recognise the contribution of young people to voluntary organisations. It should also give them the opportunity to utilise their voluntary work as experience for their prospective jobs.

She appealed for more help to be given to young people falling victims to vice, such as drugs. Since these people were increasing, facilities also had to increase.

Turning to sports, she said the time had come to look at sports in a different manner and project it in a professional way. The time had come for specialised schools on sports. The government should also enter into exchange programmes to enable Maltese athletes to train abroad.

Dr Caruana acknowledged achievements by the Malta rugby team, saying its activities had yielded some Lm300,000 to the economy. Such efforts should be rewarded with better facilities.

Karl Chircop, opposition spokesman on employment, said unemployment was getting more serious. Job creation and overseas promotion for foreign investment needed to be stepped up.

Furthermore the government should not continue to burden industries. And foreign workers should not take the place of the Maltese, as was often the case at the shipyards, for example.

Dr Chircop complained of abuses by employers who engaged workers as full timers but registered them as having two part-time jobs with different companies within the same group, working 19 hours in each.

The Labour MP said that apart from unemployment, workers were having less disposable income and living standards were falling. Although the ETC was doing a lot of useful work, the government was putting it in a position that its efforts were not enough.