Repair of Msida school not a priority, ministry says

A school in Msida for students with special needs that has been closed for the past four years and whose roofs are damaged should be repaired and used as an adult training centre for persons with disability, Labour Party Alfred Sant said after he visited the site yesterday.

Having the school functioning once more, he added, would relieve the load from San Miguel, Garden Angel and Helen Keller schools that cater for such students.

Although the roofs needed to be repaired, the school could still be used without going into the expense of building it anew.

Dr Sant said he could not understand why the building was left in such a state of deterioration particularly when the need for adult training centres for persons with special needs was growing. The school would help reduce the congestion in the other schools, he claimed.

During the visit, Dr Sant was informed by an Education Department official that the government had invested Lm900,000 in mainstream schools and those for students with special needs.

The Education Ministry yesterday rebutted the Labour leader's comments saying that the Sta Marija school was closed when it was merged with the Guardian Angel school after their populations dipped.

The majority of students with disability have been incorporated in mainstream schools. There are around 1,500 such students in Church and state schools with the service of a facilitator. There are 286 students in special schools.

As a result, the development of the ex-Santa Marija school was not a priority for the time being, the ministry noted.

The Msida school would have to be built from scratch. Those areas that do not pose any danger are being used for other services, the ministry said.