Students behaving badly

A.Azzopardi

Aug 20th 2010, 19:29

Apart from several abuses taking place in the city, it is important to switch on the street in Triq il-Bessiera, L-ibrag, where, on a daily basis, foreign students behave improperly by having open sex as the street is utterly in the darkness. We have seen these acts taking place with our own eyes as if there is no one around. ACTION PLEASE!!!

Thomas Spot

Aug 20th 2010, 16:30

As a mature (sounds better than old) resident of Swieqi I am naturally quite aware of the situation that is being described. Maybe I have seen enough of the world to understand what humans are capable of doing to each other to take a slightly different standpoint than that adopted by the majority of others commenting here. I was a teenager once. There were times when I had a couple of drinks to many. Silly things seemed fun at the time and I went along, being a kid straight out of school. Being rowdy and unruly is what being a teenager is about. One day they will be old and grey like I am and I would loathe to be the one to have robbed them of their childhood, of escapades to recount, of mischievous behaviour. I'm out walking in the area sometimes and I'm amused by what these kids think is 'cool' yet I love the smiles on their faces. Let them be and get back to whatever it is you waste your boring lives doing.

D.Galea

Aug 20th 2010, 15:50

So far I have never seen such an expression of hatred & jealousy towards our European counterparts. If some of these students are behaving badly then the appeal should be towards the Maltese authorities to deal with it. If they are not up to it, then we are not up to earning the money for bringing these students in the first place.

An instigated hate campaign will certainly not do any good, in fact I am quiet sure this article is circulating Europe driving the message home for potential students to start avoiding these island. I say it's all Malta's loss and rightly deserves it.

A. Falzon

Aug 20th 2010, 14:18

We are a host family. I only except adults. Although adults in host families can go in and out from our homes, I dont except that. Please who ever is concerned about St. George's bay to take action. Most of my students don't go there as they said its full of drunk students. broken bottles and 'KIDS' looking for fights. Apart from nudists around. When will action be taken? After some one is raped or .......... ACTION PLEASE NOW!!!!!!!!

adrian agius

Aug 20th 2010, 12:25

please join!!

http://www.facebook.com/hadrian.agius?ref=profile#!/pages/Stop-Foreign-Students-Entering-Malta-Alone/107434789313774?ref=ts

J Brincat

Aug 20th 2010, 11:30

"Youngsters in general just want to have fun.”

And what would you expect the CEO of MHRA to say? His bread and butter comes from the tourist industry, so how can he see anything wrong in these misbehaved and rowdy student?

Something has to be done and we should not close an eye simply because they are foreign students!

Gabrielle Fenech

Aug 20th 2010, 10:57

Im 18 years old and live in Pembroke. My friends avoid going to Paceville due to the unruly behavior of foreign students. Taking George Schembri's statment in consideration foreign students are 'allowed' to have fun EVERY night of the week while us Maltese students are always scared of facing a fine, either 1 for drinking on the step of the bar you were in just before your need of a fag, since you can't smoke indoors, I don't smoke but here I'm keeping in mind everyones needs and opinions. Since me my boyfriend and friends no longer go to Pv in summer, we sometimes think of organising a bbq. BBQs on the beaches are unacceptable but paying people to clean up every early morning after the 'students enjoying themselves' collecting about 10 large garbage bags of spirit bottles and MORE is excellent! I want to mention an encounter i had at St.Georges Bay only 2 group leaders present joining in with the fun (drinking) a security member spotted an absolut vodka bottle approached the student and instead of taking the bottle he suggested 'put it in a softdrink bottle that way no one knows'

A.Attard

Aug 20th 2010, 10:05

Can someone please explain to me if these foreigners know the meaning of pavement?? I got sick of stopping because some drunk kid less then 14 decides to start his journey for a new life in the middle of the road.

jesmond abela

Aug 20th 2010, 06:13

i think we as maltese are too judgemental when it comes to certain topics, out of the 1000`s of students here this year we are literally talking about a few perpetrators, and we shouldnt judge these foreign students as a whole over a few kids actions, we only have to look at ourselves and see the crimes commited by the youth of malta itself , now we dont go and judge are cousins , nieces , nephews or children based on the actions of other juveniles in society do we?, these students come here and are fuelling money into a currently die-ing trade which is tourism , we should grace ourselves with the fact we even have tourists this year due to a global recession and are lack of genral Hospitality among are nationals, there is plenty of other options around europe to go and learn english for a cheap, more Hospitable vaction, i seriously think malta needs to snap into the 21st century and soon! we need to get rid of are bitterness and old age ideals, and absorb a very strong future prospect of ours, which could see us being one of the most beautifull tourist destinations around.

a.demicoli

Aug 19th 2010, 19:39

Maybe one way to address this situation is to name and shame these students because, most probably, they act very differently in their home country. And anyway, who needs such behaviour ????

C Zammit

Aug 19th 2010, 17:36

This is a double edged sword for the MTA. On one side they want these youngsters as they add up to the tourism statistics (I doubt the economics). On the other hand the locals and other tourists staying in the same areas are very much displeased with the behaviour of some of these students. Some other comments I would like to make: 1. George Schembri said: “Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.”... Mr Schembri being a hotelier is not interested in the behaviousr of these youngsters, he is only interested in making profit. 2. Feltom insists that recent incidents have to be seen in the perspective of the tens of thousands of students who visit Malta every year... How convenient? What about the tens of thousands of Maltese youngsters, are they behaving in the same way? Feltom should be held responsible for this kind of behaviour and should be made to pay as they are the ones making profit from it all. I dont want to pay for the damages with my taxes and Feltom making all the profit. 3. I wouldn't pay the Hotel if I am abroad and have this nonsense around me.

Alex Coppola

Aug 19th 2010, 17:04

Mr. George Schembri may I ask in which part of Malta you live? Perhaps you do not have any problems at night and you always enjoy a good nights' sleep contrary to where I live in Swieqi where we have to bear the shouting, clapping and not to mention the vandalism on our cars every day between 5 and 7 am. Of course students have every right to enjoy themselves but have no right to disturb other people's lives. Compaints forwarded to the police and local council so far fell on deaf ears. Come on Mr. Schembri I do not expect such a response from you as you have to be in our situation each nd every night besides the influx of Maltese during the weekends frequenting Paceville.

John Bonello

Aug 19th 2010, 15:13

Well, i'm sure the residents of such areas themselves opted to buy homes in touristic areas - what did they expect? They should have known the drawbacks of living in such areas and yet they still decided to purchase their property or live there. Besides, these are only rare cases - most of the time students do yell outside their balconies and yes they can be chaotic but they're young and they're here on holiday besides studying english. They bring good money and rarely stay here for more than 3 weeks! Just suck it up Sliema residents!

E. Azzopardi

Aug 19th 2010, 14:05

And they tell us there were no complaints! Where have you been all this time?
Incredible.

Ann Vella

Aug 19th 2010, 13:18

The English Language Schools hosting these students should select their students and be responsible for their behaviour.
Apartments rented out to students are incurring substantial damage.
The students being 'young and want to have fun ' is no excuse for disturbing nearby residents or the harm and damage they are leaving in their wake!

Andrea Mangion

Aug 19th 2010, 10:29

QAZZISTUNA!!

P. Borg

Aug 19th 2010, 07:50

Someone must put some serious rules on the quota of students visiting Malta under the coverup "to study English". I bet I wouldn't find anyone of them who has really learnt english at the end of this Summer. Paceville has become totally impossible during weekends and you are forced to leave. They are irresponsible, bad behaving, arrogant and god knows what. They just come here to escape from the control of their parents and these schools are only bothered about the money they make and not about our country and about some young criminals that they attract.

S Abela

Aug 18th 2010, 23:31

I dread to open the newspaper every morning wondering if there is a report on foreign students behaving badly. I've lived in St,Julians for a number of years and experienced the attitude and sheer arrogance of these 'so-called students' in the most unruly way. They threw glass beer bottles,empty and full on to cars,pelted the house opposite them with toilet paper,stood naked in the balconies and used it as a platform to relieve themselves onto the cars below! Students housed in hotels,holiday apartments and guest houses cause nothing but trouble and lots of inconveniece to the neighbours mostly. Those that are in host families very rarely do, however i think that language schools are to blame coz they only think of expanding their pockets and dont emphasise enough on 'good behaviour' and rules! We really dont need them here, they do no good at all and personally i think they should get to spend a night in jail with the 'real criminals' and 'murderers' so they get a taste of what their attitude and utter selfishness can lead them to, unless they can be repatriated ASAP!!

Silence Dogood

Aug 18th 2010, 21:31

You know what these youngsters want. A bag full of harsh discipline. "Youngsters just want to have fun." We don't care what they want. We just want to be a peaceful island welcoming tourists that can improve our economy. This is for the common good.

laura ferrito

Aug 18th 2010, 19:42

the same had happend to my boyfriend...there was a line of cars parked near each other in pv..this happend 15 yrs ago and we saw students jumping from one car to another, we scared them off, then we realized that they had already marked our car as well. I don t think they leave much cash!!!!!! they share a small bottle of water between 3 or 4 ppl!!!!!!!!! they are nice when sober but devils when drunk. They drink alcohol and mostly are underage..and cannot handle alcohol intake...thus making them become animals.

Mandy Spiteri

Aug 18th 2010, 18:42

I was recently on my way home from an early morning walk, and as I was walking back up Manwel Dimech Street (the Balluta side), near the bridge. I saw about six cars in a row with the wing mirror either smashed or ripped off!

On another occasion, my husband and I were walking down to the seafront, we saw some students in the balcony of a hotel. When they saw an Arabic man with his wife, and baby in the pram, they spat on them!

Quality tourists! (not)....... I have witnessed many students (that sound Spanish) at 6.30am swimming. Not a problem, but it's all the shouting that they do, I pity the residents on that pieces of the sea front.

Joseph Calleja

Aug 18th 2010, 18:20

First we manage to chase the good tourists away, by charging them exorbitant high prices and disrespect. Then the hotel boom came along which left a lot of the older hotel rooms empty. So we found a different market to thrive on.The foreign student market. These students bring a lot of money with them but they also bring a lot of teen trouble. Most of those that are sponsored by Maltese families are usually well behaved but those in groups that live in unsupervised hotels seem to cause most of the problems. All the hoteliers worry about is to fill their rooms. Malta is known all over Europe to be the place to go to learn English and that kind of backfired. Malta is becoming the place for young people to come and party and most of the time learning English is far from their minds. These kids seem to enjoy the liberties that Malta has to offer, they know that before they come here. Malta has to learn to put up with this while their Mommy and Daddy are sitting home in front of the telly very peaceably, feeling good that they unloaded their bratty kids on somebody else.

joanne pace

Aug 18th 2010, 17:45

i agree with Karl Consiglio, we have a lousy Tourist Ministry, who should look to attract a better class of tourist. A better class of tourist wont come to Malta with all this racket, In stead of upgrading our quaint little towns like Balluta, the St Juls,Local C ouncil are doing their best to turn it into another Paceville /ST Georges bay. The Police Force, completly non existent at least in St Julians. At this rate we will end with the tail end of tourism.

L. Brincat

Aug 18th 2010, 17:24

I was in Barcelona recently and I noticed a heavy presence of police (Mossos d'Esquadra) with batons patrolling the streets. You have to behave in the streets as the Mossos are very strict and they react heavily to unruly behaviour.

Its about time that police precence is geared up in Malta and show their force and presence to these so called students as most of them come to Malta as for them is a haven of freedom!

Ray Buhagiar

Aug 18th 2010, 16:47

Here in Fgura, away from the foreign students, I can't sleep with open windows because my Maltese neighbours leave their dogs barking, and their pheasants (summiena) clacking throughout the whole night. And what about the smells from pigeons droppings, or dogs excreta washed down pavements.

We are a country of Yells, Smells and bells 24/365 so why are we so surprised about these students misbehaviour. They must have done their research before choosing Malta as their rowdy destination.

E. Azzopardi

Aug 18th 2010, 16:21

It is incredible how one can say that no reports were received. Formal or non formal reports, you see it, read daily about it in the media and many times you are a victim. Is the MHRA waiting for people to write or go and knock on the door? Its there for all to see. Anyway, now you have " more" reports and tens of them. You see, there are complaints!

Group leaders? Several have no idea of controlling a group, probably not through a fault of their own but because they have had no proper training. Group Leaders should be mature and over a certain age.

Let's stop kidding ourselves. I know of good spending tourists who left the country earlier or did not even come back because of all this and not only this year.


If we go on like this, we are really going to the dogs where tourism is concerned.

Claire Busuttil

Aug 18th 2010, 16:13

The law/police should protect this country. Something should urgently be done. We are becoming a sort of a dustbin, ending up, having a really bad, poor level of tourism, if you can call them so. No matter what, we should no more tolerate these young people, to do whatever they like, as if they are given some kind of super rights!! Language schools should take more responsabilty and held liable, when crimes are made by their students.

marika mifsud

Aug 18th 2010, 15:57

Mr George Schembri - Even if we Maltese were willing to put up with the noise and rowdy behaviour for the good of the Tourist Industry of Malta - is it possible that you have never spoken to any tourist who says they liked the island but their stay was marred by the noisy students. So many of them complain that they couldn;'t get a decent night's sleep.
i don't think it is fair for the tourist to pay good rates and then find half of the hotel full up with students. If a language school can't find families, or prefer hotels then they should take over the whole hotel and these hotels shouldn't be in residential areas.

victor pulis

Aug 18th 2010, 15:51

Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association CEO George Schembri said: “Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.” Is jumping on cars and throwing planks out of hotel windows George's idea of having fun? has he ever had his car jumped upon and smashed? What kind of argument is that?

The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta (Feltom) insists that recent incidents have to be seen in the perspective of the tens of thousands of students who visit Malta every year.
Feltom, it takes just one student to get one into trouble. These incidents are inviting an even uglier incident if some Maltese decides to teach these louts a lesson without involving the forces of law and order
These hooligans come here and make life hell for the locals and we try and excuse them with statements.

Martin Debono

Aug 18th 2010, 15:42

I have lived abroad in two cities that host foreign students in the summer and never saw any of these incidents happen there except for isolated instances. So while rightly criticizing the students we should perhaps engage in some criticism of ourselves. Here are some thoughts that come to mind:

1. Virtually no police presence on our streets
2. Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol to under-age drinkers and face ridiculous sanctions in rare instances when they are caught
3. Equally unsocial behaviour by Maltese in Paceville etc. encourages foreign students to misbehave
4. Irresponsible behaviour by some host families (my mother hosts students and immediately reports them to the school if they misbehave, which then contacts students/parents)

Leon Zawadzki

Aug 18th 2010, 15:20

My wife has been hosting students for the past fourteen years and can honestly say we have never had any trouble with any of them. Its only in the past three - four years that the student problem has become such a bit issue. To me the real reason behind this is quite simple, money and organisation. If people recall, five years ago the tourist industry took a big dive in the numbers of tourist coming to Malta while the student courses in English was increasing at quite a rapid rate. Host families were taking more and more students on board and making a decent income, at the same time controlling the day to day routine of the students, but this all changed when the occupancy of hotels went down. Hoteliers seeing there rooms empty and unoccupied saw the chance to make arrangements with English Language Schools and took block booking for students, cramming up to eight student to a room. Little if any control on discipline enforced. Schools were happy as this cut down on their cost in things like transport etc. Many host families stopped hosting as student numbers dwindled and it became uneconomical to carry on.

d sullivan

Aug 18th 2010, 15:06

Foreign students are a v big problem in Swieqi. I live opposite the swings, which are not closed at night time. Students gather there partying from midnight till around 5-6am every single day. We are unable to sleep with windows open and even though we have double glazing and the a/c on its still noisy. Last night a group of 4 came outside our balcony trying to throw something into the house. They were staggering with drunkenness. Can the authorities please do something about it - more police presence.

MBorg

Aug 18th 2010, 15:03

These so called students are not kids, most of them are in their early twenties. They should know better. Most come here for the fun of it, for a holiday. not to learn English.

Why not put up notices in Hotels which host these students ans in schools about certain rules and laws that must be obeyed.? Why not let them know in no uncertain terms that if they are csught behaving badly they will be deported. This might make them think twice befor causing any trouble. The noise they make in our streets at night is turning us all against them

A Tagliaferro

Aug 18th 2010, 14:59

'' Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association CEO George Schembri said: “Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.”

He said the MHRA had received no formal reports on the students as such but was working with the Malta Tourism Authority to find ways of reducing any impact on the tourism industry as a whole."

......by his own words, Mr.Micallef is telling us that we has no problem with such ill behaving students jumping on his car, urinating on his doorstep, doing havoc in his neighbourhood and for all it matters they could do all this near his office !

Maybe he could supply the addresses to make the job easier...

john fenech

Aug 18th 2010, 14:56

Stephen Koludrovic, et al - those who want Malta and of course particularly Sliema, as another Ibiza, are for sure, those lining their pockets with the cash generated from these so called -English students- most of the remaining folks are only getting grief by the attitude of these students – for the record I am sure that only a percentage of the students are behaving in this irresponsible manner.

The problem will only be solved if the Schools- Agents-Hosts will honour their collective responsibility and since this will only happen -when elephants learn to speak English- then the authorities have to ensure that those who break the law are put on the first plane home and the host/ school/agents not honouring their contract will have their licence revoke. Obviously this will never ever happen, although elephants have a phenomenal memory!

These students are here to learn a language and during their stay must behave as responsible individuals. I am sure that several of the commentators to this article have been abroad – do you act irresponsible when you are abroad? Having fun is accepted being a pain in the neck is not!

Jesmond Micallef

Aug 18th 2010, 14:43

Malta is becoming the party island for these hooligans as Mr. Adrian Agius rightfully described them. I just wonder how they behave on their own home territory. Then again, people in authority intervene when a Spainsh lady gets ill treated by a Maltese bus driver. We also read here of the "damage" people do to the tourist industry when youngsters steal from tourists.

I say, a Vigilant Group of Professionals should be put together and do frequent walk arounds in order to check over this menacing phenomenom. It back fires on the tourist industry itself, if not the "English Language Schools" found within these areas. Maybe a good solution would be to separate the locations of these schools as much as possible. I tend to think that most of them are too close to these hot night spots in Malta. I once flew from Köln to Malta with Air Malta and a German teacher of English sat next to me on the plane. I remember him telling me quite clearly that such an industry in Malta has no future because of too much noise within these areas.

I never hear a single noise in Nürnberg apart from those football days.

Robert Calafato

Aug 18th 2010, 14:41

It's all about a few people making a "quick buck"!

SBalzan

Aug 18th 2010, 14:14

Malta vera ghandha bzonn dan it-tip ta kummerc? Vera ghandna bzonn l-istudenti biex jizdied n-numbru ta turisti li jew Malta jew qed inaqssna milli jigi il-vera turisti minhabba fihom?

Nizar Hingari

Aug 18th 2010, 13:57

The solution is not banning students or making stricter rules - just enforce existing laws (both gvernment and school management) by police patrols, undercover police, assigning responsible team leaders and enforcing criminal laws on those who break the law (including deportation and blacklist). These students are beneficial to the Maltese ecponmy as they increase the percentage in consumer spending, even by a fraction, it thelps alot of maltese businesses, as well as more money for our buses, museums, parks and souvenir shops. What we need is good law enforcement, cooperation from the schools and good old fashioned discipline for unruly or dangerous students.

It is simple just deport and ban the bad ones, and keep the good ones - dont generalise ! U gimgha ohra immorru lura id dar ghax daqt skola taghhom :P

jcassar

Aug 18th 2010, 13:43

I am not surprises that these students behave badly, when our childern and youths behave badly no one stops them or correct them, have you ever been in a restaurant and you find a couple of children that spoil your evening, with the parents just enjoying themeselves watching their children disturb others, have you ever seen people throwing rubbish everywhere and no one stops them. They behave like this because we behave badly, and them just follow us.

tony abela

Aug 18th 2010, 13:32

MTA should be wiser and they should have realized that the main problem is the fact that as students pre-book the hotels in January February, the good value tourist who were over her during April and May, mainly Italians of medium class who we were accustomed to in the 80's, found the 4 Star hotels full booked when they tried to make the last minute bookings in these hotels. It is a know fact that the Low Fare Travel covers the last minute bookings. The result is that these good value tourists finished in 3Star Hotels and as expected they were disappointed after their experience in 4 Star Hotels.

Therefore, I am very surprised with the MHRA comments as they should know very well the realities.

One important factor for the Hoteliers is the fact that students book and PAY early in the year and this is an advantage to the Hoteliers, but ignoring the permanent harm these students are infringing on our Tourist Industry in the long run.

as usual, Maltese businessmen are short sighted and makes hailwhile the sun sines.

J Gambin

Aug 18th 2010, 13:30

anyone caught misbaving red handed should be jailed for 24 hours (allowed by the law) to sober up; he or she can also be given English books to learn english during those hours. If this happens a few times- then word will go round - ok it might scare a few students away- but i like to think it will scare the ones that cause trouble; the well behaved ones have nothing to fear.

Joseph Stafrace

Aug 18th 2010, 13:25

When law and order fails; anarchy tends to set in. Organise yourselves into Citizen Patrols and play their own game, obviously in a non lethal way. Pelting them with rotten eggs and horse manure will bring them to their senses.

Stefan Meilak

Aug 18th 2010, 13:20

The situation has become unbearable and no on seems to be doing anything about it.Some two weeks ago a group of circa ten rowdy Eastern European (half undressed) men marched with impunity through the streets of Swieqi at about one in the morning.They were accompanied by a two man band (with trumpets)as they danced,sang and drank beer in the middle of the streets..The Swieqi local council should wake up and do someting about the situation.Nothing has been done about the long outstanding weekend parking problem/invasion by non residents in the area and I also fear that nothing will be done about this problem

Joanne Micallef

Aug 18th 2010, 13:12

Most of them behave more like savages rather than decent human beings.

Andrew Harding

Aug 18th 2010, 13:06

Throw them all out of the country and make legislation whereby the hotels they stay in and the language schools they are booked in are made responsible for there vile behaviour and for compensating all damages caused by them.

l fenech

Aug 18th 2010, 13:05

Dawn mhux studenti imma jigu ghawn Malta ghal-holiday u biex jixxalaw. Issa sira nafu x'isarfu gbajna naqraw fil-gazzeti tal-kuljum fuq l-imgieba hazina taghhom.

Neville Calleja

Aug 18th 2010, 13:03

Please note that problems are only being registered in the Paceville/Swieqi/St Julians area. There are only a handful of school operating in this area. Other English language schools exists in other parts of Malta but few if any problems are reported.

FELTOM, MTA please wake up - you know who the bad weeds are. It's time to knock some sense into a few identified people.

N.Azzopardi

Aug 18th 2010, 12:59

U ejja COME ON. We are like the devil preaching the Gospel. Who are we to point fingers at ? As if we are the quietest race on earth. Lets all ask a simple question to ourselves. When we are a crowd, are we loud or not ? We are considered as the noisest people on earth. Party everywhere we go, and we hardly take any notice of who is around. When we are abraod, you hear a group of Maltese holidaymakers from miles away.

albert leone ganado

Aug 18th 2010, 12:59

Please let us not exaggerate. Try living next to a farmhouse rented to maltese vacationers as I do. I assure you that many of the transgressions mentioned are minor compared to what we have to bear.
However may I make a suggestion. The Language schools together with the Tourist authority should fund student stewards, monitors or tourist wardens or call them what you want to patrol the areas where these foreign students congregate and bring some measure of order. This would be an excellent summer job for our university students and they are likely to be accepted and listened to by our young foreign guests more than the strong arm of the law. There should also be a curfew on the younger students to ensure they are back at their residence by a certain hour. More responsibility for reducing noise and disturbance should also be placed on families and residence owners who accommodate such students. Each student should be give a booklet outlining the house rules and the sanctions if they are not adhered to
.

Philippe Zammit

Aug 18th 2010, 12:53

And yesterday at around 10.00pm my daughter told me that two Italian blokes were swimming completely naked again in ST.Georges bay !!!
Not very representative of a BLUE FLAG status beach. They should audit the bay in the early hours of the morning when garbage and tons of plastic bottles used to mix alcohol cover the whole beach.

J.Agius

Aug 18th 2010, 12:49

Yes I have seen police patrolling & running after bag snatchers.They do a good job.But I think for all the places you mention the whole force is not enough to patrol for 24 hrs.Perhaps cctv cameras will solve some problems.Also students should be given a leaflet to show them how to behave when in Malta by those bringing them over.From my experience they send a van to pick them up at airport dump them outside a flat overcrowded allready & than these things follow.

M. Mizzi

Aug 18th 2010, 12:49

"The Sliema resident complained the students were impossible to contain as they had a student to team-leader ratio of 30 to 1.
Moreover, these team leaders were not much older than the students themselves, “so they find it very hard to control them”."

why do I have to keep reading and hearing the same old bullsh*t . Nothing but excuses and bla bla.... the schools are profiting at the citizen's expense. So it obviously the schools (each and every one of them of course) that should be held accountable. If the ratio of "30.1" is posing a problem then you obviously know how to solve it. Employ more people. I'm sure the heads of these schools can buy one yacht less this year.

adrian agius

Aug 18th 2010, 12:29

CAN A FACEBOOK PAGE BE ORGANISED SO THAT THE AUTHORITIES WILL KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY MALTESE ARE JUST FED UP OF THESE HOOLIGANS????

C Zammit

Aug 18th 2010, 12:24

Mr. George Schembri missek tisthi tghid students are students and they just want to have fun - you really consider yourself CEO of the MHRA??? vera ghandna biex niftahru. u make us all so proud!!!
we don't need these students - as i always said - kick them out of the country, they are just trouble !!! Commandos tridu ma dawn l'istudenti mela student leaders l'anqas biex jifilhu ghalihom!!!

A. Azzopardi

Aug 18th 2010, 12:21

Well, if certain sections do not know of any reports, then the people running them must be living in the clouds. Obviously, from an air conditioned office you surely do not know what is happening outside!

"Students are students. Youngsters in general want to have fun" Does this mean that this is acceptable? That is the message I get and surely many many others. Prosit hey!

There are many incidents in Sliema and residents do not report them for obvious reasons.

Irrespecitve of how many students come to Malta and the number of incidents, these are always UNACCEPTABLE and I haven't seen this word anywhere in this press release!

Well, if anybody thinks that this has not effected other tourists then we'd better think again.

Seeing these students half naked in the streets and everywhere else, is not a question of religion or decency, but mostly a question of STANDARDS. Where are the standards we had 10 or 15 years ago? Better do something about it and fast.

Malta needs this kind of tourist market segment but it needs to be strictly regulated and supervised. Until then we'll still have the same problems year in and out.

Karl Consiglio

Aug 18th 2010, 12:19

Not just Swieqi and Msida, but Sliema and mostly Paceville residents who are in the thick of it. We got one lousy Ministry for Tourism and one lousy police force. Paceville is sick of it

Joseph Calleja

Aug 18th 2010, 12:10

These students come mostly from rich families who can afford to send these mostly teen age brats to a foreign country to learn English. The ones that live with Maltese families are very well behaved and in most cases are no problem. The ones that are staying in hotels are on their own and most of the time with no supervision. It does not matter if they are Maltese, Italian, Spanish etc teens are going to be teens. It seems lately we have not been taking good care of our tourists and they are becoming scarcer every year so here is a new industry we can cater to. Their parents are happy to get rid of them and we are happy to have them because they bring money into the country. Everything comes with a price, and unruly foreign students are no different and as they say, boys will be boys especially when they are in groups and unsupervised. As one mentioned in the comment section yesterday ( money talks and bulls..t walks. If these students really want to learn English they should go to England. But this way they get to learn English and party at the same time

E. Abela

Aug 18th 2010, 12:10

Alexander Borg - I should hope that when you were young you did not resort to this kind of behaviour. We are not at all 'prejudiced' (I suppose this is what you mean when you say predigist ?) We are stating true facts and these are defnitely not 'childish' pranks. Maybe you do not live in the areas 'invaded' by students. Sorry no tolerance for unruly behaviour - this is tantamount to accepting lack of discipline which the authorities should impose before the island goes to the dogs. It seems to be anything goes as long as it brings in more money. This is happening because the students and certain type of tourists perceive that the whole of Malta is just one big beach/disco where they can enjoy themselves without any inhibitions and without any consideration to the residents of Malta and others who are staying at hotels.

Stephen Koludrovic

Aug 18th 2010, 12:09

Why are al you guys moaning. You wanted Malta and Sliema in particular to be similar to Ibiza, well now you almost have it. Enjoy it till it lasts.

Albert Farrugia

Aug 18th 2010, 12:05

These incidents show why the crackdown of the police on skinny-dipping in St George's Bay was a wise step, and not some "Middle Ages" throwback, as some wanabies would have us believe. These young people are coming here with the idea (God only knows where they got it from) that they can do as they please. This could be (1) because its probably their first time on holiday without their parents and (2) because drinking laws in Malta are very lax.
I think we should stop this "English language teaching" nonsense forthwith. In any case, these students are being tricked as they are led to believe by the schools that English is the spoken language in Malta. The "bona fide" students are shocked when they discover that this is not the case, and that Malta is no place where one can "improve his English". Not when the "English" they hear in Malta is limited to a bus driver yelling "Ejja hey, ara move back ta!!"

R.Degiorgio

Aug 18th 2010, 11:55

Mur giebna kieku dawn il vandali kollha li qed isiru mil studenti qed jamluhom xi klandestini...ara kieku kemm najjruwom u nejdu xorti ux!!! Imma l-aqwa li dawn huma bojod!!!??? Allura niskuzawom u noqodu attenti xi nghidu fil comments taghna.
I hope actions will be taken against these so called 'students'!!!! They only come here to party and disturb our streets!!! Obviously they dont come here to shake our tourism economy!

SXuereb

Aug 18th 2010, 11:55

What about those students who broke the mirror for all the cars paked in Scicluna Str St Julians??
And what about those who broke a telephone box infront of Park Towers also in St Julians??

the police have come for them..but then nothing else was heard about them!!

Joseph Bugelli

Aug 18th 2010, 11:50

WE NEED TO GET RID OF THIS RUBBISH NOT BY REFUSING THESE STUDENTS IN OUR HOTELS BUT BY GETTING A BACKUP FORCE FOR THE POLICE IN THE ST JULIANS AREA. IT HAS TO BE A MUST THAT DURING JULY AND AUGUST THE POLICE PETROLS BY CAR, WALK, HORSES ETC LIKE IN ALL OTHER EUROPEAN CITIES, LIKE MADRID, ROME, DUSSILDORF, PARIS, LONDON, IBIZA, MAJORCA ETC ETC. SORRY BUT AS USUAL WE ARE NOT A SERIOUS COUNTRY, WE ARE AMATEURES...........

mc. mifsud

Aug 18th 2010, 11:49

Besides putting up with the noise of clapping and singing by these spanish students as they walk home at 6am after a night out in paceville we were recently also given a free show as four spanish girls decided to walk home through the streets of swieqi topless with their clothes nowhere to be seen. They may have thought it was funny but this is definitely detrimental to the image Malta should portray.

CZARB

Aug 18th 2010, 11:45

Students are student but the law is equal for everyone. The government should make sure that these schools are legally responsible for the actions done by their students.

Alexander Borg

Aug 18th 2010, 11:42

Seriously, this is important news, come on, the students are being what they are which is children. Maltese kids do these kind of things as well all the time, when I was young I was creating more havoc then one could imagine. Moreover, the amount of times I would wake up in the morning to find my car with a scratch is unbelievable and I am meant to believe every time its been an intoxicated student. Of course not. We in Malta are predigest without just cause. For we seem to blame the students for everything as a whole when rather we should look at the individual and judge him alone and not make a predigest and ageist generalization of a whole group of people.

Jim Manolo

Aug 18th 2010, 11:38

Qed nistiednu li naraw xi persuna tal lokal sakemm taqbzilu wahda u sew u jgholli xi tnejn min dawn....

Imbaghad nlestu ruhna biex najruh......bhal ma dejjem jigri, il malti t tieni.....il barrani l ewwel.

P.Cassar

Aug 18th 2010, 11:31

SEVERAL HOTELS ARE FILLED WITH SUCH SUTDENTS INSTEAD OF PROPER TOURISTS. ...................................WHAT IS WORSE GOVT COMES OUT WITH HIGH OCCUPANCY FIGURES WHEN IN FACT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT TWO-PENNY, ROWDY STUDENTS WHO ARE PROBABLY HARMING OUR LONG RANGE TOURIST PLANS ( IF THEY EXIST)

g. scerri

Aug 18th 2010, 11:30

To me the real sticking point is that a good number of these so-called students do not come to learn English at all; it's just a cheap holiday. The hotels know it, the schools they attend know it, and the poor teachers who have to confront them after a drunken night out know it too well. There should be not only a tightening of standards but close monitoring as well to ensure that only those who really want to learn English are taken on. But then of course there is the profit motive. As Adam Smith told us a long time ago, these schools and hotels are businesses and so long as classes and rooms are full, they little reck what happens. It's the numbers and the money they leave behind that counts. Perhaps if the schools start charging hefty fees and really deliver, Malta might start getting a better class of student. Until then, Sliema residents will have to put up with it. Nobody is going to slay the golden goose so that they live their life in peace and quiet.

Jason Coleiro

Aug 18th 2010, 11:25

waste of space and time and to add insult to injury the government puts these as tourist! i worked with these guys and there is only 1 thing they come for and its havoc.

B.Grech

Aug 18th 2010, 11:22

Behind our house in Swieqi there are two villas which are utilised to accomodate students all year round. This year I ve been awoken or kept awake many an occassion to the sound of students shouting singing and even bongo playing! The real issue is the owner of these particular villas who implements zero control on the students residing there, to the detriment to us locals. Calling the police each night is not a solution as the students (especially the spanish ones) are up to their late night bongo playing and singing the very next night. We ve had it up to here with these two establishments and their owner. If only taking the case to court wasn t such a trial in itself on this banana republic of ours!

Rhona Scerri

Aug 18th 2010, 11:21

I live on Tower Road Sliema, near the above mentioned hotels once i had to park my car near there "you tell me you should have parked it somewhere else in sliema as regards to parking beggars can't be choosers" i found it next morning full of sputum, toilet paper, vomit and cigarette stubs and the hotel could do nothing about it believe me i wasn't the only one, Along the promenade there is the hedge once passing by try and notice the missing pieces as instead of crossing from zebra crossing they just run and step over crossing the road wrecklessly you have to be driving very very carefully not to sometimes run over them especially when they are drunk out of their heads and then every night us residents have to put up with shouting, vandalising of our front doors and planters even using them as toilets. There need to be more controls on our streets if this is the type of tourism "we" want on our island,

J.I.Camilleri

Aug 18th 2010, 11:20

All this should be fairly simple to deal with : the schools concerned should be held responsible for damages caused or problems created by misbehaving students. They are responsible for their students and they should be held responsible at law - full stop! May I add, by the way, that a couple of friends of mine in France have commented that their children (and this time we are talking about French students) have learned very little English here but a lot more other things which the parents had not thought they would! No further comment is necessary!

ML. Schembri

Aug 18th 2010, 11:19

There is an old English saying which I used to study in my First Aid in English that goes:
SPARE THE ROD SPOIL THE CHILD.

Joe E Galea

Aug 18th 2010, 11:18

These supposed to be students are just dangerous and reflect the decaying culture in their country. Everyone of them who misbehaves should be sent immediately back home at his own expenses.

A.Camilleri

Aug 18th 2010, 11:17

i worked as a security officer with these students a few years ago and they out of control, even when we used to call the police they could not keep up with them as they congregate in a large number and so you cant pin point any of them.

Ryan Bugeja

Aug 18th 2010, 11:16

"MHRA CEO George Schembri said: “Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.”
It's a pity that everybody seems to forget his/her youth days, the adventurous kind, those of staying awake till sunrise if possible, and yes being a bit noisy in the process.
Language learning is an industry that is growing in Malta and that's because our islands have a good reputation of providing a good mix of fun and learning for the students. Having said this, not ALL students behave badly. Some are simply sent to Malta while their parents go on holiday elsewhere... voila, independence!
I've worked with language schools in the past and the very misbehaving ones were sent home. When out in the street, the students are'nt under the schools' responsibility... so proper legal action must be taken against those who break the law, like anyone else.
People who reside in areas close to hotels, and entertainment areas, cannot expect to have silent nights in summer and weekends... just learn to live with it... and I won't be surprised that among those of the complaining few there are past or present host families who earn/ed good money hosting (or abusing from) students!

Robert Zammit

Aug 18th 2010, 11:14

Students are kids and kids will always want to have fun, even when studying as i'm sure we all remember our uni days! Having said that some things they do go to extreem and should be contained. These 'kids' do spend money here and some bars and hotels rely on them for their turnover. Some points to reflect on would be
1) we now have students using 3/4 star hotels- says something about the kind of tourists we are told we're getting to Malta no ? These students used to stay with host families, now in 4 star hotels ??? MTA must be doing great work if 4 star hotels are having to fill up with students !!
2) If the police are hounding these students at 4/5 am on the beaches where they can do little or no harm except to thmselves and maybe go skinny dipping, it's obvious they're going to get up to no good locked up in their 4star hotel rooms !!!!
So leave the students alone !!! they bring money to hotels, schools transport providers etc. Hound the administration, they brought this on us, the MTA/Government are to blame i think

Nicky Diacono

Aug 18th 2010, 11:09

"Just want to have fun" no problem with that as long as they behave, I live in Qaliet Street St.Julians, we have three hotels in the same street full of students. The noice is unbearable at all times. The damage to our cars is crazy, i just had mine checked and the quote to fix it came to €3,000, there is not one bump that I caused, they are all kicks, punches, hit and runs, glasses droped from hotel balconies, people jumping on the roof and bonnet and the list goes on. The same happend to my daughters car, the latest is that they urinate on the door handles (they want to have fun). When we call the police they say that they are too busy, our Local council and Major are none existent, it is as though we do not have a local council in St. Julians. We have been asking for some help to sort out the major problems we have in that area and it seems that no one cares, the funny thing is that when elections are close low and behold suddenly everyone is knocking on our doors and promising all sorts of solutions,
all lies.

N. bonello

Aug 18th 2010, 11:09

“Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.” - having fun does not mean being rude and hurt other people. this year I went to the Netherlands as part of an EU youth exchange programme and had the opportunity to go there with other young people from Malta. We had fun, and we are students... but didn't fooled around like these students are doing!!

C Grech

Aug 18th 2010, 11:04

Good!! So according to Feltom and George Schembri it is perfectly fine that we cannot sleep properly since the noise caused during the night is the effect of tens of thousand of students and they want to have fun (i.e. walking on cars, getting drunk, littering and pissing on facades etc..basically things they do not do at home.)

Host families should also be aware that they are creating a nuisance to their neighbourhood.

E. Abela

Aug 18th 2010, 11:01

A solution to the problem could be that government issues specific orders to the police and wardens to book unruly / vandals students on the spot, fine them and deport them from Malta the next day. Not worth wasting the courts' time. English language schools would do well to inform their students on the first day of lesson on our customs and what they stand to lose when behaving badly. They should also respect our laws and customs otherwise they can go elsewhere for their 'holiday' - sorry - to 'learn' English.

Cathy Goodjohn

Aug 18th 2010, 10:58

I stayed in St. Paul's Bay Hotel (now renamed I believe) last September and the hotel was full of rowdy and unruly students who caused havoc amongst the guests at all hours of the night. I did complain to the holiday company, and many, many other guests were complaining also. Regrettably, it looks as if nothing much has changed.

N.Azzopardi

Aug 18th 2010, 10:56

@ Sharon Pace. Why we always have to generalise. There are good students and there are bad ones. This is the same as us Maltese. We know Maltese who even go to Gozo and be only a nuisance, and then there are others who behave and enjoy, spend and generate a lot of business and descreatly. If you think that these students do not generate money, you do not know what you're saying, and so if I were you, I will stop commenting. These English Language Schools has become an industry. Everyone realises that the young generation are the most spenders. Through experience, I noticed that these students spend all their monies to the last cent, and some of them they even spend all their monies in the first few days of their stay. They call back their parents to send them more money. So lets do not make an issue about the few who have to be controlled. Many hosts families do earn some extra cash, which in turn finishes in our economy. More control, and let them enjoy their stay, many act as our representatives. Holiday in Malta is fun. Parents sometimes follow.

M.Tonna

Aug 18th 2010, 10:51

That's what you get for chasing numbers instead of quality tourists!

The local council would do well to install a few cameras and employ the services of the local securites to curb down the mayhem that goes on in the little hours. The local businesses can be roped in to contribute, not just cashing in and let the local pay the brunt day by day!

Taking the law in our own hands is never a solution, more often than not innocent people get hurt while the real culprits get away with it!

E. Abela

Aug 18th 2010, 10:50

Sharon Pace - Dwn qed jaghmlu bina li jridu ta u ahna qed inhaluhom!!! - too true Sharon. I am getting the impression that students and other not so classy tourists are taking us all for a ride. They are doing exactly what they please, shouting, screaming, vandalising cars, etc. walking on the promenade in their beach wear and now even boarding buses without tee-shirts in the case of men, and women bikini tops, I have also seen students going into supermarkets without teeshirts. I am not at all happy with the 'tens of thousands' so-called students because they are being a nuisance to all and this is being proven. Of course I am not saying that all of them behave this way but it seems it is the majority. Summer in St. Julians and other areas is becoming a nightmare. We should not sell Malta for a couple of Euros. Also there is a blatant lowering of standards in all spheres because they are perceiving that in Malta they can do what they like and sometimes I do not think they are wrong given that there is absolutely no discipline in the proper areas.

Chris Finch

Aug 18th 2010, 10:49

How incredibly holier than thou some people are.

How many people have had their car scratched or damaged in Hamrun, Qormi, Zebbug, Tarxien etc by local youths who are in 'high spirits'. How many fights happen at local festas? How much noise and disruption is caused by the nightclubs in the limits of Rabat or other areas?

How many people are kept awake by carcades? How many have been woken up at 6am by inconsiderate construction workers?

It seems that whenever an incident involving a 'foreigner' occurs, some people are up in arms. WIth one idiot even suggesting taking the law into their own hands and sorting it out the old 'maltaes' (sic) way. Whatever that means.

I say to these language students and all tourists, why not take yor money elsewhere? Once the government has to raise taxes even more to cover the loss of income, those complaining locals will be welcoming you back with open arms.

Malta is already becoming less competitive as a tourist destination. Now we have people threatening violence against tourists. Truly killing the goose that is laying the golden egg.

Enzo Caruana

Aug 18th 2010, 10:45

Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association CEO George Schembri said: “Students are students. Youngsters in general just want to have fun.”

Mr Schembri

I am sure you realise that this sort of "fun" does nothing to enhance Malta's image as a tourist destination. On the contrary, they seriously harm all our efforts to attract a certain class of tourists.There were many letters of complaints from tourists who were staying in the same hotels used by these students.

matt kind

Aug 18th 2010, 10:44

@JAMES

Ma jinteresanix kemm idahlu fl-ekonomija taghna , ejja sa tas sliema , jitilaw fuq il karozzi u jhassu bil pinna fuqom

Keith Cristina

Aug 18th 2010, 10:43

I was going home from pv and I almost got hit by a 2 litre plastic bottle (filled not empty) that was thrown from the second floor of an apartment near axis. Following to that I waited to see if someone was there and he threw another bottle followed by another one, this time a glass bottle.

Anders Borg

Aug 18th 2010, 10:42

Time to start enforcing stricter rules in regards of agelimits in bars and shops, alcohol is the reason behind all of this.

Malta would definatly be helped by a 20 year agelimit that is enforced strictly, sell to a younger person and you lose your license.

And while that is added, start to have alcohol controls every night on every road out of Paceville between 22,00-07,00 the next day.

Andrew Bonnici

Aug 18th 2010, 10:41

1 teacher controlling 30 students is wrong becuase every group of students that attend a school have their own foreign leader with them. when i worked with 30 italians (which i must admit was hell), i had 2 italian foreign leaders with me who helped me out. i was also lucky that i could understand italian quite well, and immediately told them off if i heard something i didnt like :).. igifieri ma nessegerawx!

another thing i'd like to point out is that its true, in Summer these students do cause trouble especially in paceville. we need more police officials controlling these areas becuase the police are seriously outnumbered when theres trouble.

Mark Herrera

Aug 18th 2010, 10:40

Cameras are required in Paceville (All over the place), St.Julians and Sliema on the sea front as damages to local's property has become a standard in recent years. Just this morning, we had Spanish students jumping onto boats (One on which was already damaged).

Residents have called many times the local council but to not avail. The reply I had got when my car was damaged was "I'm sorry for what happened, but I doubt cameras will be introduced any time soon"

A.Debattista

Aug 18th 2010, 10:38

It's time we send these students back home. This isn't where they belong.

Matthew Borg

Aug 18th 2010, 10:35

It's ironic that quite a few commenters below (and on this website in general) should be subjected to a course in English as a foreign language!

Phil Press

Aug 18th 2010, 10:32

"A spokesman for the MTA said that in contrast to previous years, when the main complaints originated from tourists because of the young students staying in the same hotel, this year it had no such recorded complaints from tourists over the past months."

Does this not tell you that there may be less tourists, because of past experiences, with the students. So they do not come anymore.

Andrei Azzopardi

Aug 18th 2010, 10:31

This is the new youth and it is the fault of the authorities. This is what happen when you give children more rights than the parent. The parent HAS NO CHOICE but to care less about the upbringing of the child. This is harsh, but it is reality. We see it everyday.

M Vella

Aug 18th 2010, 10:31

If it was my car and Ill catch him jumping on it ,Ill end up in jail.If the police are doing nothing then sliema ecc residents wake up and do what you have to do hit back

Albert Cocker

Aug 18th 2010, 10:27

Each summer the Euro Trailer-trash express arrives.

patrick zammit

Aug 18th 2010, 10:26

As a country, we have done next to nothing to attract the discerning tourist. We need to go for quality and not quantity. Our efforts have been directed in the opposite direction.

Paul Busuttil

Aug 18th 2010, 10:23

Its about time these residents took the law into their own hands the OLD maltaes way!

J Fenech

Aug 18th 2010, 10:19

This time round, will we be hiding under the excuse of them being 'young people' and as such should be allowed to 'enjoy' themselves to the detriment of locals and other tourists? Language schools should be given a set of strict conditions to abide by or else have their licence revoked.

A. Schembri

Aug 18th 2010, 10:18

@sharon_ pace
I host student and also live close to st.georges bay. Go to the bay at 3am,4am,5am to see how busy the beach is. True there are students who misbehave. I_have_been_hosting for over 3_years and had hundreds now of all ages,nationalities,colour_and_gender. None of them ever caused trouble. Maybe I am a lucky host person?_Unlikely! True, the host familty does not make much money out of this and I look forwasrd to the day when I can stop hosting. However the school does, the generate business as well whereever they go, surely the shops in st st georges bay area cannot complain that much as when I go down there I always see a lot of students and quite a bit of business going on. The schools do organise activities and trips to gozo, comino, round Malta which surely generates business.

Unfortunately the students which cause too much problems are the Spanish. Reason being that their gov grants them about Euros1000 to go and learn English. For them, it is a holiday and go wild one. Other nationalities don't get that and so it comes out of their pocket hence why they get most studies.

J.Agius

Aug 18th 2010, 10:14

Only last week two 18-20year olds broke down the Tree outside Ta Kolina Restaurant at 2.15am.
They were caught on cctv running to the tree pull the branch off & running towards Borg Olivier Street.Just for fun!!!!I
In the same week the mirror of the car was also broken down.No not by another vehicle as the one next to wide pavement opposite surfside.

Jason Attard

Aug 18th 2010, 10:14

Very simple. The language Maltese schools promote abroad Fun&Learn (alcohol and a diploma) so what do you expect? Why are all the language schools in party areas? It is very simple to end with these students, just close down the language schools and grow potatoes

Franco Farrugia

Aug 18th 2010, 10:13

This being the case, it is wrong and steps should be taken to discipline these students in the APPROPRIATE manner.
Team-leader ration 30:1 is super ridiculous. But equally ridiculous are the team-leaders themselves.
I remember English-language schools in the past, being very demanding and severe as to the kind of people that they employ. It seems that now, things have changed and anyone and his granny can open such as school. This, in itself, is giving a very bad name to the other schools, and to this industry as such.
Students should NOT be accomodated in hotels.
@ Sharon Pace: Who is scaring away normal tourists? These youngsters or us? And are you sure you know what you are saying about the money they generate to the economy? Maltese youngsters abroad, sometimes, are no better than these.
@ Anthony Farrugia: Yes, there IS a problem here, but I still have a feeling that we are over-exaggerating. But I repeat, there IS a problem.

Kyle Bartolo

Aug 18th 2010, 10:13

Recently, someone decided to literally break my side mirror off my car which was parked in swieqi Triq Is-Sidra (only min away frompaceville). And it was on the side of the pavement, thus surely someone had done it on purpose. And i have heard many more incidents like this.

This is a disgrace. Swieqi/st. Julians and unfortunately in my opinion even sliema have become an extension of paceville and irresponsible people. Especially during summer time. Only last july i was driving in sliema at around midnight to find a group of students fighting and throwing glass bottles at each other hitting parked cars. Where are the police??? they do fantastic jobs as recently read. but these things are also very important.. Sliema is a place where the family goes to enjoy a walk by the sea. Having children witness these things whilst walking with there family (as yes, midnight is not that late) would surely give a bad impression to the child, let alone if got hit.. besides all the complications and mixed emotions with the parents.

Something must be done to control such situations.

ABORG

Aug 18th 2010, 10:12

from what i read in the newspapers and experienced when living in a tourist location, these youngsters are merely interested in learning english but rather in pursuing this criminal-in-the-making behaviour, especially through vandalism.

L.Farrugia

Aug 18th 2010, 10:10

@Schembri MHRA i-kumment li ghamilt inti li forsi qed tgawdi personalment jew inkella l-ghaqda teighek ma jaghmlux gih ghal persuna fil-kariga li tokkupa. Allura ghax students are students u Youngsters in general just want to have fun.” jaghmlu l-hsara u ahna inhalsu għaliha. Int personali jew MHRA lesti li ghamlu tajjeb ghal hsarat min dawn l-istudenti li inti qed tiddefendi.

CS Camilleri

Aug 18th 2010, 10:10

All the authorities and the English schools care about is to make money. They will never take action since it would ruin their own business and "national" interests.

G.Dalli

Aug 18th 2010, 10:10

1 team-leader to 30 students is still much better than 1 teacher to 40 students in the primary schools!!!!

GVella

Aug 18th 2010, 10:02

Police foot patrols! This must be a joke. I have NEVER seen a policeman foot patrolling along the Sliema / St Julians front.

Anthony Farrugia

Aug 18th 2010, 10:01

How many foreign students come to Malta each year ? How many of them "misbehave" ? Are we getting mixed up between "high spirits" and "misbehaviour" ?

sharon pace

Aug 18th 2010, 10:00

They don't generate that much amount of money, they are scaring annual tourists away, they are a nuinsence to locals and they are showing criminal behavior u nistahbew wara li huma youngsters. Ha jmorru il youngsters Maltin taraw jamlux hekk go pajjizom x'jamlulhom!!! We don't really need these english learning students..OR else if we really do think that we need them enfroce stricter laws, Dwn qed jamlu bina li jridu ta u ahna qed inhaluhom!!!