A Labour government would build a new kindergarten in Marsascala in line with a plan that was drafted in 1998, party education spokesman Evarist Bartolo said yesterday.

A new scholastic year was set to begin in four months` time and yet Marsascala children had no place in the community`s school, he said.

Mr Bartolo said that in 1997 an Education Division report had stated that the Marsascala school was small for the ever-growing population in the locality. An application by the Education Division to the Planning Authority in 1998 to build a new kindergarten was approved in 2000, he added.

The Foundation for Tomorrow`s Schools had then written to the education minister telling him to shelve the project until a study was carried out and a solution found for the next 30 years.

Although over two years had passed since the PA approved the new kindergarten project, nothing had happened, Mr Bartolo said.

Now that Labour councillors recently raised the matter, a tender has been issued for the construction of three classes. However, he maintained, this was no solution.

Even the planning department of the Education Division had mentioned the need for a new kindergarten in the locality, he said.

The education ministry said in a statement that the children of Marsascala would have as many classrooms as they needed.

The Marsascala school would be able to cater for all the children expected to attend kindergarten both in October and January.

It said the Education Division was constantly following Malta`s demographic development to determine the structural needs for education purposes.

For the immediate future, a number of classes were required and these would be built in summer so as not to cause any danger to the children. Finishing would be carried out between October and December so that all classes would be completed by January, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Tomorrow`s Schools would be carrying out an audit of the long-term needs in the locality to come up with a permanent solution.

Following an evaluation of the project by a task force, it was determined that the needs of the school could be satisfied by the construction of a number of classes on the existing building - amounting to a cost of under Lm100,000 - a quarter of the cost of the original project, the statement said.