Government to pay for facilitators in private schools - more university and MCAST investment

The government has announced financial assistance to enable private independent schools to engage facilitators.

Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said such assistance was already being given to state and Church schools.

He explained that the budget was providing €13 million for projects of the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools. Work will continue on the new primary school at Pembroke and on the building of secondary schools in Victoria and Mosta.The plan was for the government to open a new school every year.

The university’s financial allocation is going up going up by €4.4 million to €36 million and another €1.5 million will be invested in the new ICT Faculty, research and in the library. The scholarship project called Steps will benefit from an investment of €10 million over four years.

The minister said that €13.3 million will be invested at MCAST so that lecturers would have the opportunity to improve their qualifications. Another six projects, amounting to a cost of €5.7 million, would be undertaken for the college to provide multimedia training, a languages laboratory and new computer systems. €3.7 million will be invested for a start to the extension of the MCAST campus.

The government would also be investing in new childcare centres in Siggiewi and Pembroke.