The English language teaching industry was not simply “putting bums on seats” but setting top-notch standards, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said yesterday.

Stressing the need to push for further growth in the English language travel sector, he said Malta had to strengthen its reputation as giving students a “great educational experience”.

Mr Bartolo was addressing teachers of English as a foreign language at a conference organised for them every year by the ELT Monitoring Board.

“This industry is not just about putting as many bums on seats to Malta to learn English but keeping our standards high in terms of the quality of the English we teach here,” Mr Bartolo said.

“We want this sector to grow because it is part of the internationalisation of our education system. We’ve had over one million students over the years and must strive to keep our standards high, as it has always been,” Mr Bartolo said.

He spoke about the importance of Malta’s bilingualism, saying this was the country’s “past, present and future”, expressing “alarm” at the level of English and Maltese being taught in schools and at the uptake of languages such as Italian and French.

Strengthening the command of English did not have to come at the expense of the Maltese language, he said, adding that he disagreed with those who came up with “noble excuses”, such as flying the national flag when refusing to speak in English.

“We want teachers in our schools to feel adequate when it comes to using English,” Mr Bartolo said.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that the visa system did not affect Malta’s competitiveness.

“While we must ensure that it is not abused, we cannot make it difficult for non-EU students to come to Malta to study English.”