Works in progress

Those who believe that because it's summertime the living is easy should spend some time at the Ministry of Education. July, August and September are, by far, the busiest months in terms of preparation for the new scholastic year. Administration wise, there are all the logistics to be coped with, to ensure a back-to-school process that is as problem free as humanly possible. At present, structural and maintenance works are underway in approximately 30 of our primary and secondary schools.

The Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools has done sterling work since it was set up by public deed in 2001 with the stated mission to develop, build, upgrade, refurbish and maintain government schools. It has delivered state-of-the-art schools and is currently busy in the delivery process of three new secondary schools at Verdala, Cospicua, Mosta and in Gozo as well as a new primary school for the children of Pembroke and nearby localities. There will be new halls available at Marsaxlokk and Kirkop, while Mrieħel Girls' Secondary, Qormi Primary and the 50-year old Maria Regina Girls' School and the Ħamrun boys' school, together with several others, are undergoing extensive works.

The provision of new laboratories, spacious classrooms and other facilities create an environment that will give the schools, students and teachers a new lease of life.

Tasteful finishes, when it comes to the choice of colour schemes and other décor, create surroundings that are a far cry from the grim ones that seemed to be de rigueur in so many schools in days gone by.

There is a great deal of work to be done in other schools. In recent days I have received e-mails from parents highlighting needs in several schools. It will take time to upgrade all our schools but it will happen. The track record established in these last years is tangible proof of that.

The Teachers' Council has finally been set up. This is the last part of the 2006 amendments to the Education Act to come into force. The council is representative of all stakeholders in our education system, the primary and secondary sectors, state and non-state schools, University, parents' associations, and the Malta union of teachers. The functions of the council are various, and include the granting of warrants to teachers and the promotion of a Code of Ethics for the teaching profession. The council has the authority to investigate allegations of negligence or incompetence and to make its decisions and recommendations known to the Minister. It is precisely for this reason that the law specifies that the chairman must be a lawyer of many years' standing.

The council is an extremely important legal structure which will definitely benefit the teaching profession and the education system in general.

I am in full agreement with the statement by Philip Carabott, the GU Clinic Consultant, that a section of our young people are having high-risk, casual sex while being clueless about the consequences. Dr Carabott, as his post warrants, focuses on the number of young people infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

As ex-Minister for Social Policy, I came across the social problems and the havoc wrought in young lives where wrong choices are made. So many parents seem to assume that because today's young "grow up" at an earlier age they know all there is to know about sex and relationships. The truth is the opposite. What some of them have is an "education" gleaned from lifestyles as portrayed on the media where casual sex is the norm and part of the fun agenda. The maturity clause is absent in so many young people prematurely indulging in sexual practices.

A National Sexual Health Policy has to address these realities without skirting around the facts, grim as they are, or may be. We may not like the picture but we have to look at it without blinking.

A bland, non-policy should be left to gather dust. It's not what the country needs. What we need is a factual, down-to-earth, no-nonsense policy that addresses life as it is lived today.

Yes, a review of sex education in schools is definitely called for. As Dr Carabott says "it's clear that whatever efforts are being made in terms of sex education in schools and health promotion were clearly not enough or not working"... for some, that is, but for a significant some.

Moving on to our girls and boys in Beijing who have spent years in preparation for the Olympics, who their excitement and tension were tangible when I met them a short while ago. I have no doubt they will perform to the utmost of their ability and that is the best we can ask of them.

Good luck to one and all.