Language schools place onus on police to control students

English language schools have no control over the large crowds of misbehaving, mostly Spanish, students who instead should be controlled by a stronger police presence, according to the language schools’ federation.

A substantial part of the problem in the roads was caused by adult Spanish visitors who came to study English in Malta, said Alex Fenech, president of the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta.

Mr Fenech was reacting to several complaints in the media about rowdy students causing trouble to residents in areas such as Sliema, Swieqi and Paceville.

He insisted more police presence was necessary to control students’ behaviour on the street and said Feltom had tried to pre-empt the situation in April with the police because it foresaw a busy summer ahead.

However, they were told the police were understaffed.

“In summer, which is when the problems peak, the police tell us that they are taken up with the village feasts in the weekends – the police are the ultimate authority in the streets,” he said.

The federation, which represents 16 of the 38 licensed English language schools in Malta and Gozo, had also approached the Spanish Embassy in May to tackle the problem. This summer Spanish students received a letter from the embassy on their arrival reminding them to respect local laws and customs.

“We are trying to do something about it,” Mr Fenech said.

If all else failed and the situation did not improve, Feltom planned to take up the matter with the government.

In 2009, more than 5,500 Spanish students aged between 18 and 25 years came to Malta and another 1,000 under 18.

Mr Fenech, who is also the owner of a language school in Swieqi, said he too received many complaints from residents about the Spanish students.

“We even have problems within the school – they are rowdy and dirty and cause trouble and this year we have already expelled three,” he said.

Schools had the legal authority to expel students but had no right to send them back home if they were adults, he added, saying that was the domain of the courts if a crime was involved.

He insisted language schools did not have control over what happened outside their property and the trouble was usually caused by students who were actually adults.

Although there was misconception that a “stereotypical” English language student was a minor, 60 per cent of the 69,000 language students who came to Malta last year were over 18 years of age, he said. These were legally accountable for their behaviour.

Minors had strict curfews but adults could not have these imposed on them and English language schools and hotels had no legal authority to “dictate” how adult visitors spent their time.

Also, it was not fair that language schools shouldered all the blame. “Schools take care of their students during school hours, the accommodation takes care of their property and the police should take care of the street,” he said.

Although over the years an increasing number of students have been staying at hotels as opposed to living with host families, Mr Fenech does not believe this is the main reason behind the higher number of complaints.

“I agree to a certain point. But if you have groups of students who leave their accommodation at 11 p.m. to go to Paceville, walking through residential areas, then they obviously will be noisy and disturb the residents,” he said.

Mr Fenech admitted it was an awkward situation and said he did not blame the residents for complaining, especially if they called the police who did not turn up.