Agreement 'closer' on common entrance exam

An agreement on the introduction of a common entrance examination for Church secondary schools and the government's Junior Lyceums was getting closer, Education Minister Louis Galea said yesterday.

He also told a PN activity that kindergarten education was to start being offered to children from two years and nine months of age instead of from three years. And by 2015, one would have to hold a degree to become a kindergarten assistant.

The education system, he said, would be introducing the system of continuous assessment and profiling. Although examinations would continue to be held they would be supplemented by assessments.

He congratulated the Maltese national team on Saturday's game against Turkey, which was drawn 2-2, and thanked the Maltese spectators for their support at the football ground.

Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech said the budget to be presented next month would reflect the country's economic success.

He said that the International Monetary Fund report last week noted that the Maltese economy was growing and getting stronger.

The economy in the second quarter grew by 3.7 per cent and with the current rhythm of growth the four per cent figure would be reached by the end of the year.

He pointed out that there was growth in all sectors including tourism and said that wages in the financial sector had increased by eight per cent.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that a total of 250 factories had opened in the past three years and, if each of these created a minimum of 25 jobs, this meant 4,500 jobs for Maltese youth.

Dr Gonzi said that his government had created 6,100 new jobs and unemployment was currently at its lowest level in 12 years.

Dr Sant's advice some years ago had been for the depreciation of the Maltese lira by 10 per cent so that Malta could become competitive, he recalled.

But the government chose a different route which, although not easy, had yielded dividends, as could be seen by the Lm600 million invested in the country in a year.

His government's vision for Malta was for the country to become, by 2015, the best regional and European centre in information technology, financial services, manufacturing of high value added goods, tourism, education and health.

Malta was attracting companies administrating huge funds and the country's financial sector was managing a total of €31 billion. This sector employed between 7,000 and 12,000 people and if this situation continued the government's aim for the sector would be reached by 2010.