Five vocational subjects will be recognised by the Matsec board for the first time at Sec level from the new scholastic year, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo announced today.

These subjects will be engineering, IT, agribusiness, health and social care, and hospitality.

Mr Bartolo said that this would be among a host of changes which will come into force as from next month with the start of the next scholastic year.

The education minister was speaking at the San Gwann Primary.

He said that among other changes, Ethics was being introduced as a subject in primary and secondary schools. Accounts were being introduced as a subject in secondary school. There will also be a new Italian language programme.

The new scholastic year would see the introduction of middle schools and this would be the second year in a six-year process for the introduction of co-ed in secondary schools.

As previously announced, a number of literacy initiatives will be taken in primary schools.

There will be an expanded Alternative Learning Programme for those taking up vocational subjects.

There will be more career development and work exposure in the Personal and Social Development subject.

He said the government was also keeping its promise to reduce the cost of school uniforms by 10 per cent.