No scientific evidence exists that longer breaks affect child obesity and formal school hours are not negotiable, the teachers’ union insisted. However, the union is open for discussion on students’ well-being, Marco Bonnici, president of the Malta Union of Teachers, said when asked about a proposal to extend lunch breaks.

In a Talking Point in this newspaper last week, consultant urologist Karl German recommended that the main break at school should not be shorter than “one full hour”.

It might just mean starting school 10 minutes earlier and finishing 10 minutes later but would double the available time for physical exercise without disrupting the daily timetable too much, he said.

Mr Bonnici noted when contacted that though there was no uniformity with break duration, there was also no researched scientific evidence showing that longer breaks affected child obesity.

“There is, instead, wide-ranging evidence that eating habits and physical activity have a major effect on obesity. Different teaching grades struggle to enforce healthy eating policies with students and, in a number of instances, they find resistance not only from the students but also from some parents,” he continued.

The scholastic provision and experience has changed

“Furthermore, some students consumed unhealthy food or drinks immediately before or after school hours.”

Mr Bonnici pointed out that there were “very good” initiatives geared at engaging more students in physical activity during and, more importantly, outside school hours.

“The union affirms that formal school hours are not negotiable. Any proposal must take in consideration agreements between the union and the Education Ministry and other employers in the education field,” he said.

The union was always willing to discuss proposals that affected the well-being of educators and students but expected discussions to be backed by research.

“Furthermore, there is a tendency that claims by non-educators are solely based on one’s own experience of one’s schooling years. The scholastic provision and experience has changed over the past years and any claims or proposals must be based on what is being done in schools now,” Mr Bonnici said.

A spokeswoman for the Education Ministry agreed that students should have more time dedicated to physical exercise: “This does not necessarily mean an extension of school hours.

“The government already has proposals in hand, such as the request by parents and students to introduce the physical education kit on a permanent basis to incentivise more exercise.”

Over the past two years, she noted, there had been increased investment, both in terms of human capital and resources.

This included the body mass index survey, sport festivals through Sport Malta, curricular exercise activities for different age groups and more time for PE (introduced the for first time at kindergarten level and double the amount at primary level).

Questions on the matter sent to the Health Ministry remained unanswered at the time of writing.

Enabling sports activities to flourish

Savio College and St Aloysius College Secondary School already have a one-hour break. The Times of Malta asked them about the benefits and the challenges.

The long break at Savio College is far more than an extension of free time to chill out from lessons, according to outgoing headmaster Fr Eric Cachia, SDB.

“It enables sports activities to flourish and have their equal importance as formal subjects. But without the actual animating presence of educators and their direct involvement with students, the long break could easily be seen as a waste of time or a perfect space for mischief.”

Savio College, run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, holds dear to the one-hour break, introduced over 30 years ago.

Fr Cachia said teachers were paid for staying with the students during the break but there was a number of staff members and Salesians who freely involved themselves.

The break is but a prelude to several informal events held outside school hours and is part of a culture that fosters interaction between all stakeholders at the school.

“It involves financial challenges for the upkeep of the place and to make it feel like home. It means longer school hours and more sacrifices from all.

“The biggest enemy of all this? Our system itself. We welcome the government’s priority to challenge the excessive weight of exams.

“At the same time, Matsec is slow to change syllabi and to implement a much-needed reform,” he said, noting that, occasionally, teachers offered extra academic support to students with low grades during the break.

For St Aloysius College Rector Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ, the main advantage of having a long mid-day interval is for students to choose between organised games, organised clubs and free play.

At St Aloysius, the lunch break is one-hour long. It was initially longer and was reduced from 70 minutes to one hour in 2007 when the college made some changes to the Wednesday holiday.

Since the foundation of college in 1907, break time has always been long and organised.

Fr Bartolo, however, noted that schools had to have facilities to cater for a long break, otherwise issues related to space might create more tension during the time outside the classroom.