Education benefits from €41.4 million in EU funds

A sum of €41.4 million from European Regional Development Fund has been allocated to education for the period between 2007 and 2013, with the University benefitting from about €31 million, half of which (€15.7 million) will be spent on the construction of an ICT Faculty.

So far, 16 projects have been approved, while the investment of another €10 million in 10 other initiatives is awaiting approval, Education Minister Dolores Cristina said yesterday.

Under the European Social Fund, another six projects, costing €17.7 million, have been approved, and eight could be in line for an injection of €16.7 million if accepted.

Cultural heritage projects have been allocated €9.6 million under the ERDF until 2013, she said. The funding is being directed towards preservation and management projects in Ġgantija, Gozo, St Paul's Catacombs and the installation of a protective shelter over the Tarxien Temples.

Among the University projects being carried out thanks to the EU funding are the purchase of equipment for its chemistry and biology laboratories, the development of research facilities for design materials, the construction of a biomedical engineering laboratory and the improvement of the analytical facility of the chemistry laboratory, among others. About €11 million from the ESF will be injected into two projects for the improvement of its library services.

Junior College, with a student population of 3,000, is also in for a €1.6 million investment consisting in the construction of a new floor for new lecture rooms. The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology has been allocated €1.6 million for the creation of a multimedia training centre.

Other Mcast projects include a languages laboratory and improvements in Mechanical Engineering Institute while investment for the further training of teachers and administrators to enhance their competencies will come from the Social Fund. Programmes leading to degrees would also be launched and the quality of courses improved through the funding.

An allocation of €3.2 million will go for the purchase of apparatus for the science laboratories and computer programmes of every school.

In the period between 2004 and 2006, a third of the total number of projects (83) that benefitted from €12 million in EU funding were focused on education and training, said Chris Said, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Dialogue. Of the projects approved so far for the 2007-2013 period, as many as 50 per cent were aimed at education.

Over 11,600 persons of various ages benefitted from training and educational programmes during this period and this will allow them to be better prepared for the labour market, Dr Said noted.