As president of the school board of the former E. B. Vella Primary School, Mosta, and as nephew of the late historian and educationist E. B.Vella, I wish to register my disappointment at the removal of the name E. B.Vella from the plaque of the school and its replacement by School B. The removal of names of historical personages does not impart any new identity to schools but it weakens historical links, which help support our national identity.
Henry Frendo has lately written about attempts to downgrade the teaching of history in schools. He has the full support of the Malta Historical Association. Emanuel Cilia Debono also wrote specifically about the deletion of names of historical figures from school names.
I urgently appeal to the Minister of Education, who is leaving no stone unturned in her efforts to improve our educational system, to take steps to correct the anomaly.