PN proposes school wardens to manage traffic outside all schools

The Nationalist Party is proposing school wardens to manage traffic outside all schools in Malta, including church and private schools, as part of a wider reform of school transport. 

Justin Schembri, PN’s education spokesperson, said one of the biggest difficulties facing the country was the amount of public money spent on free school transport. 

He said a PN government would remain committed to free school transport for all students but would ensure public funds were not wasted. 

“We are committed to carrying on providing free transport for all students, but we need to make sure there is no waste of resources,” Schembri said during a press conference highlighting PN’s education pledges in its manifesto, launched on Monday. 

Schembri said the PN would create an agency to administer school transport and introduce school wardens to manage traffic at school gates during drop-off and pick-up times. 

He said state schools currently benefit from the assistance of police and LESA officials at the start and end of the school day, while church and private schools do not have the same support. 

The proposed wardens, he said, would be “trained, competent people” operating within the new agency and would manage entry and exit outside all schools, removing discrepancies between schools. 

Free school transport was extended to students attending state, church and independent schools in 2018, in a bid to reduce traffic caused by school runs. The system has since grown into a large publicly funded operation, with thousands of students ferried to school across the country every day. 

No commitment on where schools will be built 

The PN has pledged to build at least one new public school every year and renovate existing schools, arguing that population growth has placed pressure on school infrastructure. 

But answering journalists’ questions, George Vital Zammit, the architect of PN’s manifesto, did not specify where the new schools, including a proposed STEAM school, would be built. 

Instead, he said, various schools built in the past, such as the primary school in his locality, Mosta, had served the community well, but due to the increase in population were no longer functioning optimally. He added that modern schools also had support for students with diverse needs. 

“We will open a dialogue with all stakeholders, including parents and the MUT, in tandem with our carrying capacity exercise,” he said. 

Vital Zammit said the site of the STEAM school would be determined during its implementation phase. 

The PN manifesto says a national infrastructure plan would be based on a scientific study of the “carrying capacity” of schools, to identify where new schools or expansions are needed. It also pledges the upgrading of existing schools.  

STEAM school and other education proposals 

The proposed STEAM school would specialise in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. 

Vital Zammit said Malta already had specialised schools for sport and the performing arts, and the PN wanted a similar school focused on science and technology. 

The manifesto says the school would offer an advanced curriculum based on research, problem-solving and real-life projects in fields such as robotics, coding, data science, bioengineering and creative design. It would include labs, maker spaces and links with the University of Malta, start-ups and industry.  

The PN is also proposing maker spaces and STEAM labs in every secondary school, equipped with technology such as 3D printers, robotics and digital tools. 

Schembri also said the PN would revise what he described as an outdated curriculum after public consultation, with syllabi based more on creativity than rote learning. 

He said continuous assessment should benefit students rather than hinder them, and said the PN would consult on reforms to school-based assessments to make them fairer and more standardised. 

The manifesto also proposes strengthening MATSEC, creating alternative certification routes for students with special educational needs, and introducing Alternative Learning Programmes in every college from Year 9.  

Schembri repeated the PN’s pledge to increase student stipends by 25% from October and to raise stipends for nursing, healthcare and other shortage-area students to around €1,000 a month.