Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday inaugurated the fifth new school of this legislature – a girls’ secondary school at the St Ignatius College in Tal-Ħandaq.

The school is located next to the boys’ secondary school, allowing students to enjoy common facilities and also to participate in co-ed activities.

Touring the school with his wife Kate, the Prime Minister was particularly impressed with the library, which enjoys natural light and picturesque views.

Education Minister Dolores Cristina said it was a privilege for her to be opening the fifth school in this legislature.

She pointed out that thanks to changes in the educational system, the children in these schools had never experienced streaming or the common entrance exam.

Instead, they were provided with a clean transition to secondary school and were monitored to ensure support is given to those who needed it most, Ms Cristina said.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, Dr Gonzi said his Government had kept its promise to build a new school every year as part of an infrastructure project which will continue until 2020.

He said the Government had also invested in technology, with more than 2,500 interactive billboards and a laptop for each teacher.

The next step, the Prime Minister said, was to equip all students with their own computer tablets with educational applications and programmes.

Dr Gonzi said he was proud that education in Malta was the “most inclusive in Europe”.

Less than one per cent of the island’s children are educated at home, he pointed out.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.