Church schools ask for money

I refer to the table listing the donations being requested by the various Church schools in Malta included in the article Church Schools Forced To Ask For Money (January 10).

Whereas I would like to confirm that St Paul’s Missionary College have, for the first time ever in over 40 years, requested a donation of €150 per annum from each family with effect from the current scholastic year, this has been necessitated by the fact that the college has embarked on a project costing almost €1 million to construct a new junior school to complement its long-existing senior school.

The need for this capital expenditure came about following the recent educational reform to ensure that the students are nurtured within the college ethos at a very young age making their transition to the senior school easier.

What was not mentioned in the article is the fact that this donation has been exclusively requested until such time that the capital expenditure, which the college has incurred for the realisation of the junior school project, is met.

St Paul’s Missionary College has always provided free education for our sons, including typing and art lessons during the summer months as well as extra, optional academic subjects after school hours for which no payment/donation is requested from families.

Having said that, the generosity of parents, be it monetary or in kind, in contributing towards the day-to-day running expenses of the college does not lack and it is thanks to this that the college has survived over so many years.