A number of state primary schools premises are beyond their carrying capacity not only because of the demographics in the locality but also due to the number of ‘out-of locality’ students that are granted the possibility to attend in a different school from their place of residence for valid reasons, the Maltese Association of Parents of State School Students said.
In a statement, it said this also included students from families of non-Maltese origin residing in Malta on a temporary or permanent basis and who sometimes arrived in the middle of the scholastic year.
The number of these students was substantially on the increase. In some cases, such schools were also being burdened beyond their logistic and infrastructural capability.
The association said one could not ignore that whereas some state schools in the primary sector had a decline in population, others were overpopulated with the risk of compromising the health and safety of students and staff within the premises.
“This is further accentuated in older schools which have been subjected to haphazard additions throughout the past decades due to pressure to create more learning space.”
The association was referring to the National Audit Office report Performance Audit Class Size in State Primary School, issued In July.
It said that as the report itself stated, a high majority of the class rooms size was already below the recommended regulations to host a full class.
MAPSSS insisted that health and safety regulations had to be respected. Moreover, the schools infrastructure should enhance the expectations of the education process in this day and age in view of the changes in technology and the provision of other facilities.
It said that one could not ignore the fact that various social and cultural factors determined the students' performance in exams.
This highlighted the need of more research in this area. Thirty students in each class did not allow for a child-centred approach as established in the National Curriculum Framework and the Education Strategy Framework.
Whereas the economies of scales have to be reviewed, one cannot push the classes to such numbers at the detriment of quality education and effective learning. Classes with over 20 students might hinder teachers from providing individual attention and necessary guidance and limit communication with parents/guardians, it said.
It added that, on the other hand, very small classes with just a few students would limit the development of life skills which were essential to the overall growth and advancement of all children.
Parents, it said, felt that a class population of more than 10 students but less than 20 would allow for more individual attention, more pedagogical care and less possibility of bullying contributing to a more positive school experience that was conducive to a more effective learning process.