The percentage of 17-year-olds who continue their studies has increased from 43 per cent in 1999 to nearly 70 per cent last year, which means that seven in 10 students are furthering their studies after completing compulsory education.

Touring the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary in Naxxar, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that, thanks to the government's investment in education, the number of students following courses at post-secondary and tertiary institutions doubled in 10 years, rocketing to 22,000.

Dr Gonzi, who was accompanied by Education Minister Louis Galea, was welcomed and followed throughout the tour by a sizeable group of students. Dr Gonzi and Dr Galea even kicked off a football game at the refurbished five-a-side synthetic turf ground.

The Prime Minister said about 15,000 students are receiving a stipend, amounting to about €19 million (Lm8,156,700) a year.

The number of students at the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary rose from 800 in 2001 to 1,700 at present, an excellent performance, Dr Gonzi noted. Moreover, about 4,000 attend the Malta College for Arts Science and Technology.

The government has been investing in education because it believes in giving students the tool they need to be successful.

To this effect, the Prime Minister said the government had invested €1.4 million (Lm601,020) in the Higher Secondary and was also investing in a new secondary and post-secondary campus in Victoria apart from making further investment in the Junior College.

Dr Gonzi also visited the new library, science laboratories and computer laboratories and quite by chance met Mrs Gonzi's sister, Ċettina, who teaches Spanish at the school.

He praised the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools for the sterling work it is carrying out to modernise Maltese schools.

Replying to a question by The Times on the issue revolving around the re-sits of the Matriculation certificate examinations, Dr Galea said that the proposal to move the re-sits from September to December was just a proposal and in no way was it ever or will it ever be endorsed by the government.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.