September 2019 has come to an end. Schoolchildren have returned to their classrooms, with the first month of school now also nearing its end.

However, though schoolchildren have returned to their classrooms, the Qawra school, for the third consecutive September, did not receive any students.

This is the third September that parents from the locality of St Paul’s Bay – now declared to be the largest locality in the country – have waited and hoped, in vain, to see their children attending the new school.

A new school in Qawra was promised way back in 2015. Originally the school was meant to host the first students in September 2017. Then, this date was changed to September 2018. And this date in turn was changed to September 2019.

As the European Parliament and the local council elections were getting closer we were promised that if not fully open, at least part of the school would be used for the teaching of the locality’s children this year. However, this did not materialise.

The Qawra school was again mentioned in the Budget for next year. The new target date for the school is September 2020.

We were also told recently that the school hall will be built by the end of this year. So, instead of a fully operating school, as we have been promised, we are now being promised that the school hall will be built by the end of year.

We have to wait another year for the promise of the school opening to materialise, the opening having been delayed by many, many months.

This missed target date is an indication of the lack of planning that took place regarding this locality

A short visit to the site shows, without any doubt, that the school is not yet ready.

In reality it is still a ‘construction site’ and building is still taking place.

This implies that the building of this new school will continue going through a lengthy wait. Once construction is complete, the place will have to be finished off internally and externally. This process will be long, especially if all the finishes are carried out to the required standards.

This missed target date is an indication of the lack of planning that has taken place regarding this locality. St Paul’s Bay’s population has been increasing at a fast rate for a number of years now.

There was no doubt that a new primary school would be needed for the children of the locality.

The solution adopted by the government, instead of ensuring that the school is built on time, was the use of prefabricated classes placed in the playground of the current school, with the obvious consequence of having the grounds reduced in size.

It is a known fact that the locality is facing a large number of difficult realities which are not the making of any particular political administration. However, it is the responsibility of the government not to allow these difficult situations to become even more problematic.

The primary school years are very important in the formation of the children’s way of looking at life.

But how much is the government actually investing in this?

The children of St Paul’s Bay, Buġibba, Qawra, Burmarrad and Xemxija need to be given the best possible education, within a school structure that is large enough to provide all the required schooling and social preparation.

So far, in spite of all the efforts being made by the educators in the St Paul’s Bay primary school, who have to be commended for their endless efforts, the large number of students in this school is hindering the chance to better the life of the locality’s children.

Parents are up in arms against this situation, and I cannot blame them.

Let me hope this saga will come to an end sooner rather than later. Let us wait, and hope, for September 2020.

Graziella Galea is a PN candidate.