Minister clarifies situation over educational tours

Education Minister Louis Galea said yesterday that teachers organising educational outings for primary, secondary and post-secondary school students never were and would continue not to be regulated by the law for tourist guides, which only concerned the tourism industry.

Teachers have never required a licence to take their students on outings to historical sites and monuments and did not fall within the remit of the said law, Dr Galea said.

Dr Galea clarified the point after Junior College lecturer Frank Boffa was fined Lm500 by the Malta Tourism Authority's Enforcement Directorate for providing information about a statue of the Goddess of Fertility at City Gate to a group of foreign students during an outing.

Malta Union of Teachers president John Bencini said he had been informed by the Enforcement Directorate that the law applied to Maltese schools and teachers organising outings. The union had, therefore, instructed school heads not to organise any outings until the issue was resolved.

The MTA's enforcement director had said the directorate would not be chasing after schools, and Dr Galea also pointed out that the situation was never an issue.

In a statement yesterday, the MTA said it had never been its policy to apprehend, charge, or prosecute members of the teaching profession engaged in class visits to historical sites and museums for their pupils at primary, secondary and tertiary level.

The MTA, as well as Dr Galea, preferred, however, not to comment on the merits and circumstances of the case involving the Junior College lecturer since the matter was sub judice.

It said the Enforcement Directorate's mission was to ensure that organised excursions for tourists were appropriately led by a licensed tourist guide and that a quality service was provided to visitors. That was why officers prosecuted defaulters, including language school and minibus operators, where no tourist guide was engaged to conduct the organised excursion.

Dr Galea said the education and tourism ministries were still discussing the issue of guided tours for foreign students, particularly those coming to Malta to learn English.

The minister felt that free guided tours should not be provided to foreigners, who come to learn English in Malta. The various commercial institutions should include guided tours in their marketing proposals abroad, he said.

However, Dr Galea pointed out a distinction between commercially-run educational institutions for foreigners and other courses and programmes for students, managed by the Education Division, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, or the university.

In the case of courses organised by government entities, it was still considering whether the matter could be settled within the administrative framework, or whether the law needed to be clarified, Dr Galea said.

He said the Tourism Ministry never intended to affect educational outings for children in the course of the enforcement of the legislation.

Tourism Minister Michael Refalo declined to comment on the issue, which has had its impact on The Times readers as far afield as Australia.

A reader from Sydney expressed his thoughts on the matter, saying: "It goes to show that Malta still has elements of a ridiculous mentality!".

The reader was sure that it would take the friends to whom he sent the story some time before they realised it was not a joke.