The government will not be considering extending school opening hours, the Education Minister has told Times of Malta, referring to the White Paper due to be published later this month.
One of the government’s Budget measures was to launch a consultation process asking whether State school opening times should be changed or staggered in a bid to tackle the problem of morning traffic gridlock.
When announced in November, the idea sparked controversy, with the teachers’ union strongly objecting and insisting it would be unacceptable for teachers and students to pay the price for bad traffic management.
“Frankly, I can’t understand the fuss which erupted, with people thinking that we would be making drastic changes,” Mr Bartolo said.
“Teachers have enough problems – we’re not going to create additional ones. We are committed not to extend school hours.”
The government is looking into staggering the opening times of groups of schools that lie within the same locality
The extensions beyond school hours will remain confined to the existing breakfast club and Klabb 3-16 services mainly used by working parents.
One of the suggestions the government is looking into is a minimal tweaking to stagger the opening times of groups of schools that lie within the same locality.
For instance, one school could start at 7.45am, another at 8am and another at 8.15am. This is already occurring in some cases.
“If we want to address the traffic jam problems, schools are only one component in the equation and you need to address them all if the problem is to be solved,” said Mr Bartolo.
“I think it’s very unfair to expect school opening times to solve the very serious traffic problems. People say that during the holidays, the roads are clearer.
“Actually, the best time would be after midnight and Sundays, because not only would the schools be closed but also factories,” he added.
MUT senior vice-president Marco Bonnici said that school hours are already staggered – the earliest begins at 7.30am and the latest begins at 9am.
“There could be adjustments but the important thing is that it is done in close consultation with us,” he said.
Educators have their own children, whose school transport – and its timing – revolves around their school opening hours.
“Last year we had an issue where a school’s opening time was moved by a mere five minutes, and there were a lot of complaints from educators regarding the timing of their own children’s school transport.
“We should look beyond schools to solve the traffic problem,” Mr Bonnici said.