MLP's reception class (1)

I refer to Kenneth Wain's opinion of March 5 where he started by stating that I am a politician. That is a known fact and I am proud of it.

To serve my constituents in Parliament is a great privilege. However I am also a father and what worries me most is not when politicians do what politicians do, but when educators do like politicians.

I do agree with Prof. Wain that nobody should play political games with education. And this is exactly what the GonziPN did during this electoral campaign. It is a real shame on the PN that they used education and our children for partisan politics.

With respect to the reception class, Labour has always stated that what we are proposing is the educational concept of what happens in a reception class. The proposal is going to be debated with all concerned including educational experts, as we have already done on a number of occasions in the past. This should not lead to an increase in the school leaving age which is going to remain at 16 years.

With reference to the 10 + / 11+ examination, we should broaden the discourse further on the whole concept of assessment. I am sure that he knows that eight years ago the concept of continuous assessment had to be introduced. Eight years later this had not been implemented and the present caretaker government is still discussing its implementation.

And this is what we will do as a Labour government; we will take a holistic approach in consultation with all those concerned, including experts and educationalists at the University of Malta, without politicising the issue.

I hope that the PN will not do the same thing they did between 1996 and 1998 when the first draft of the curriculum was written and use this issue again for partisan political gain. As always it was the PN that poisoned the debate in education. What a pity!

Finally I truly believe that Prof. Wain is a valid person and that was not a cheeky comment. I think he knows that I respect him and that I always enjoyed talking to him. I also respect him because publicly he has always said that the present administration did not give the curriculum and what happens in the classroom its due importance. For this reason he also resigned as chairman of the Foundation for Educational Services.

In a new Labour government all those who have education and the interest of our students at heart will have the opportunity to work with us in achieving the Labour Party's goal to provide Quality Education for All.