New Church schools admissions system announced
Children in Church primary schools which do not have a secondary school will, from the next scholastic year, be given automatic entrance to other church secondary schools, Curia officials announced today.
The children of employees in church schools will also be granted automatic entry.
Changes to the Church Schools admissions system were announced this morning by Fr Charles Mallia at a press conference.
He said the main purpose of the reform was decentralisation and transparency.
He explained that automatic entry would be granted to children from Church homes, siblings who have brothers or sisters already in the same church schools, humanitarian cases, children in all Church primary schools (for progression to secondary schools, and children of employees in Church schools.
Children of single or separated parents, fostered or adopted children would not be automatically considered as humanitarian cases.
Fr Mallia said that as from the next scholastic year parents would no longer have to go to the Curia to apply for their children to be admitted to Church primary schools. Applications would be received in the various schools. The Curia would only receive applications in humanitarian cases.
In submitting their application in January - parents would not at that stage indicate their school preference.
Two ballots would be held for admission to kinder, primary and secondary schools. (The common entrance exam for secondary schools has been abolished).
The first would include all those eligible to enter the schools, excluding those who would have been granted automatic admission.
The second would feature those who were drawn in the first ballot and those granted automatic admission (including students from Church primary schools which do not have secondary schools). On the basis of the order of the draw, the parents of such children would state their school preference. Applicants for Form I of secondary school would have to submit the results of Year Six exams, irrespective of their result.
In order to improve transparency, the names of the children drawn for admission would be uploaded online.
Fr Cilia said that a total of 1,866 places were available in Church primary and secondary schools. He said these included new primary schools at St Augustine College, the Seminary and St Paul's Missionary College. In these schools, children will be taken in in Years One and Four. There will be a ballot for year four admissions.
The new rules will be published in full on maltadiocese.org tomorrow.
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angela scerri
Jan 29th 2011, 10:43
This is now going to create a new problem. Who is going o select church school teachers. Are hey also going to be drawn by lots. The whole thing is becoming a farce. In my opinion the main reason why parents are opting for church schools because they do not want their children to mix with government school children and they are getting away with it scots free. The most unfair thing about this situation is that teachers are being paid from our taxes. Those who are rejected all feel cheated. The church is digging its own grave. the only The only solution is to accept everyone.
Pule' Carmel
Dec 9th 2010, 01:08
Unfortunately in modern days, due to the difficulty in " weighing up situations" Charity cannot be projected as a personally exercised virtue springing from the heart, it must now take the form of an undertaking operating from information written on a card index.
Salvation and Charity may be free, but many people who do not obey moral laws and who can afford the fare, are jumping on the bandwagon, when they can afford to pay for constructing the rails on which the Salvation and Charity need to ride on.
And here is something to think about," If I volunteer to spend the rest of my life helping and giving charity to needy children, do I lose the rights to chose them?" Note I said volunteer not employed! Unfortunately when any system grows, some sort of management restricive control is very necessary, otherwise everything will get out of hand. Charity must not be given as George Bernard Shaw dished it out when he went dancing, and an old lady asked," Oh, Mr Shaw, Whatever made you ask poor little old me, to dance?". where he replied, " This is a Charity ball, isn't it?" Social behaviour is indeed very complex!
Clint Muscat
Dec 8th 2010, 16:49
Being in favour or against the church it is impossible to not recognise how the church has been for a lot of years maintaining a high level of education in Malta. I was educated in, private, church (Archbishop Seminary) and State schools throughout my life, and the formation that I got in the Archbishop’s Seminary Secondary School was something outstanding as it was not only getting good results in Maths physics etc but it makes you a better person with some values that nowadays are rare in new generations!
So please don’t always be negative!! They are doing a great job (at least that’s what I can say from my experience), forming better and more educated citizens which will eventually result in a more educated population, less criminality than if church schools didn’t exist.
Alexander Galea
Dec 8th 2010, 07:29
Great, so the public system finances a good chunk of the church school system and the church sets the rules which blatantly discriminate against those who are not already in the club.
Maris White
Dec 8th 2010, 05:56
I totally agree with the Curia. Why should children of single parents etc be priviliged than children who are born in 'normal' families? I would only eliminte adopted and fostered kids from the list as their adoptive parents would have already been doing alot for these kids. In such way everyone will be eligible to at least get a chance.
patrick vassallo
Dec 7th 2010, 22:50
Dear Fr. Mallia, can you please explain why it is humanitarian that "The children of employees in church schools will also be granted automatic entry", but "Children of single or separated parents, fostered or adopted children would not be automatically considered as humanitarian cases"????? Please be so kind as to explain this, because I am certain that nobody on this planet understands this but you. Dear Archbihop Cremona, your input here is also requested please.
James De Giorgio
Dec 8th 2010, 20:48
It's quite simple. We teachers in church schools feel that since we give so much to church schools, our children should enter automatically. Anyone who likes that can try to start teaching in a church school.
A Scerri
Dec 7th 2010, 17:33
jesus would not have allowed his schools to select children and leave out others. It has always been so and its bad. Are they really following Christ's teachings. I don't think so. All who wish to attend church schools should be accepted - its the only fair thing to do.
Bajada
Dec 6th 2010, 21:34
"Children of single or separated parents, fostered or adopted children would not be automatically considered as humanitarian cases"
More discrimination coming out of the curia, another reason to alter the Article 2 of the constitution.
R. Saliba
Dec 7th 2010, 11:58
Why should they be automatically considered to be humanitarian? Government has recognized that abuse is rampant in such cases, introducing measures to curtail it.. and people applauded. Why should curia do any less?
j Gatt
Dec 7th 2010, 12:52
Hekk jonqos...jigu ikkonsidrati single mothers ukoll!!!!!! Diskriminazzjoni xejn...dawn in-nies tant qed jiehdu vantaggi li qed issir diskriminazzjoni fuq tfal ta' koppji mizzewwga!!!
Jan Micallef
Dec 7th 2010, 16:27
Well i dont think that they should be favoured, in fact nobody should be favoured from siblings of pupils to children of staff.
Could not imagine such a policy of discrimination being allowed in serious countries.
the the church wants to discriminate, it should be treated as a private school and taxed on the absurdity they call donations [which if you dont do will be harassed by the principle]
J A Borg
Dec 8th 2010, 17:59
Children of single mothers are already being 'heavily discriminated' by living off our taxes.
They already have more advantages than my children. However, you are free to sponsor any one of them, Mr Bajada. I'm sure you will be praised by all of us.
Bajada
Dec 8th 2010, 21:59
...and you call yourself Christians living in a Christian country. Is it every human born equal?
Any of you above receive any Children allowance?
effie carbonaro
Dec 6th 2010, 19:13
@mr farrugia if you have heard the curia statement last month you would have noticed that the church is near to bankrupcy.its nothing to do with mintoff or kmb era.when you except children who their parents cannot make donations you are burdening the schools with more financial problems.i am with you when you said the schools must not be taxed but something must be done so these schools who work with such religous values do not have to close down due to high expenses.
Adriano Spiteri
Dec 6th 2010, 15:37
Church schools should not remain tax exempt.
They are businesses run by the Church after all.
"Children of single or separated parents, fostered or adopted children would not be automatically considered as humanitarian cases."
What about the offspring of illegal immigrants? Aren't they "automatically considered as humanitarian cases by the same Church that welcomed them?"
Ryan Scicluna
Dec 6th 2010, 16:06
I totally Agree with you. Something must be done!
J Farrugia
Dec 6th 2010, 18:09
Tax the schools? We may just as well tax bread. Yeh, maybe next thing you would ask for their closure or take over by the state. Are you a dazed survivor, remnant of the Mintoffian/KMBian prediluvian era or what?
David Gauci
Dec 6th 2010, 19:02
Church schools as much as private and public schools offer education of our country's children. Actually, Church and private schools are helping government in its obligation to provide education for all children residing in Malta. Surely, these are not businesses and more than slapped with a tax (i am not sure if such schools are already tax by the way), as suggested by Mr Spiteri, non-public schools should be aided more by Government. Did not somebody, sometime say "ninvestu f'uliedna"?
J A Borg
Dec 6th 2010, 19:39
Adrian & Ryan. There are so many other duties that the church performs, which are not 'business' (as you call the schools). Like administering the sacraments, assisting the sick and dying, even in the middle of the night, helping the missions.....to mention but a few. From the 'business' the church does with the schools, it has to pay the salaries of the hundreds of lay teachers it employs, do maintenance, etc. Although government schools are 'free', don't you think that you give your share with your taxes?? I presume that you speak that way because you didn't reveive your education from the church schools. If, however, you DID receive your education from them, you ought to be grateful towards the church, and ashamed to say such things.
Franco Farrugia
Dec 7th 2010, 09:14
We shouldn t allow sheer venom, or chips on the shoulders, to cloud our reasoning. Church schools are giving a good service to the country. Were it not for them, education in Malta would be of a lower standard and much more expensive. Besides, nobody speaks about the fact that the religious working within these schools, from the top down, have a miserly salary, if at all. So, you see, Mr Spiteri, least said, soonest mended - in your case especially.
A. Sciberras
Dec 7th 2010, 14:17
Dear J A Borg, teachers in church schools are paid by the government and not by the church!!