When will our educational system cease to discriminate against our own nationals? I am referring to the Maltese language examination which is a University entry requirement only for Maltese students.

Students from EU countries may not only read for a University of Malta degree free of charge (paid for by Maltese taxpayers), but are also exempt from the Maltese language entry requirement.

I can understand that local lawyers need a working knowledge of both spoken and written Maltese, but most other degree courses are taught and examined in English, particularly so the science subjects. Hospital and doctors’ notes, for example, are documented in English.

This is no disrespect for our mother tongue, but we need to be practical and accept that our little nation is, not only bilingual, but also increasingly becoming an international centre in the Mediterranean for services largely conducted in English.

EU citizens are entitled to live and work in Malta without any Maltese language requirement. Maltese spelling seems to be changing every few months, to the apparent delight of a few Maltese language aficionados, and I’m probably not the only one who finds this discriminatory imposition of the latest quirks of Maltese spelling as nothing less than a punitive measure on our own students – the great majority of whom could very well do without.