Church schools plan €20m expansion

Five Church schools are planning an ambitious extension programme, expected to cost about €20 million, which will see the number of students accepted each year growing by close to 2,200.

Four of the schools, which so far offer just secondary school level education, will be opening primary schools. Another school, which only offers primary education, will be building a secondary school in Għaxaq.

When contacted, the Archbishop's Delegate for Education, Fr Dominic Scerri, confirmed the expansion programme and explained that, through these projects, "the Church will continue in its mission of giving due importance to education in the life of man".

The Archbishop's Seminary and St Paul's Missionary College, both in Rabat, Savio College in Dingli and St Augustine's College in Pietà will start offering primary education as from the scholastic year started in September 2011. This will be spread over three years.

Tereża Nuzzo School, which has two kindergarten schools, one in Ħamrun and another in Żejtun and a primary school in Marsa, will soon start construction work on a new school in Għaxaq.

In conjunction with these projects, the Gozo Seminary and the Bishop's Conservatory, both in Victoria, and the Archbishop's Seminary and St Paul's Missionary College will be expanding their secondary level by adding a number of classrooms.

Fr Scerri said the projects would mean an extra 1,650 students at primary level and more than 500 in secondary level.

The total number of students attending Church schools, which stands at about 33 per cent of the total student population, is expected to shoot up to 44 per cent at the end of this three-year period.

He explained that, although the number of children was falling because of a drop in the birth-rate, the Church still received three applications for every vacant place. In 2008, the Church received over 3,000 applications for 1,000 vacant spaces. In 2007, a total of 3,328 children competed for 1,120 places in kindergarten, pre-grade and year-one classes and in the previous year 3,352 children competed for 1,145 places.

Fr Scerri said the projects would help the Church be in a better position to meet the demand.

The estimated construction costs range between €18 and €20 million.

Fr Scerri said the projects would be financed by the religious orders that manage the individual schools and by the Curia in Malta and that in Gozo. These would raise funds for their own project.

In line with the education reform, primary school pupils will no longer have to sit for the five highly-stressful secondary school entrance exams, as these will be replaced by three national exams. As from May 2011, the five common entrance and Junior Lyceum exams - Maltese, English, maths, social studies and religion - will be replaced by three exams: English, Maltese and maths. The exams will include an oral segment for the languages.