Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici together with Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima spoke about the Budget during a press conference at the new Qawra Primary School.
Minister for Education and Employment Owen Bonnici said that the total investment the Government has allocated so that the schools of our country could be opened according to the protocols issued by the competent authorities so far amounts to a total of €25,984,560.
He also said that for next year another €11,962,000 is expected to be spent on recurring costs in view of the same protocols. Minister Bonnici stressed that this is clear evidence of the Government’s commitment to the further advancement of children and students’ education and of how seriously the Government has taken the health and safety of children, educators and school workers.
He stated that these amounts included additional expenditure on the cleaning service, the security service, the supervision service on the arrival and departure of the children, the provision of cleaning materials; washing, hygiene, sanitation and disinfection, payments related to risk assessments, payments related to pre-recorded lessons, additional child-minding services at two new centres and new costs related to breakfast for children among others.
During the press conference regarding the budget for the Ministry of Education and Employment, Minister Bonnici said that the Budget for 2021 will go down in history as the largest budget ever allocated to the education and employment sector. In total the budget for the year 2021 gives a total increase of €65 million without taking into account European funds.
He mentioned that a key priority will be infrastructure projects in the education sector.
He said that during this year a number of infrastructural projects were carried out, such as the opening of the new Qawra Primary School with an investment of €13 million, the construction of a footpath in the Secondary School (Lyceum) of Ħamrun with an investment of €0.5 million, and the works carried out on the Middle and Secondary School of Żejtun with an investment of around another €5 million. Before the end of this year, the restoration work of the School of Arts in Valletta will be completed with an investment of €5 million.
Similarly, said Minister Bonnici, the year 2021 will be characterized by more infrastructural work in the field of education. He referred to the ongoing works for the construction of a new primary school in Msida with an investment of €14 million and highlighted that in the coming days the first stone will be laid in the New Primary School of Victoria, Gozo with an investment of €10 million. This school will replace the existing school which is over 160 years old.
Two other projects that will be given a big boost in the year 2021 are those of the extension and major works on the Primary School of San Ġorġ in Ħal Qormi and of the Secondary School in Santa Luċija respectively. These two projects, said Minister Bonnici, will be carried out with a total investment of around another €15 million.
At the same time, the Ministry will be carrying out modernization works in the various state schools in Malta and Gozo, said Minister Bonnici. In particular, during the year 2021, a larger-scale modernization work will be starting to be carried out at the Primary School in Rabat, Malta with an investment of €2.3 million, at Nadur Primary School with an investment of €1 million and at Għaxaq Primary School with another investment of €1 million. He explained that a total of almost a thousand students are expected to benefit from these three schools.
Work will also begin on an extension of the Naxxar Primary School with an investment of another €2 million.
When it comes to tertiary education, Minister Bonnici said, there are very important projects that will be given a big boost over the next year.
He explained that at the University of Malta, over the next year, we will be investing in a new sports complex, which will include, among others, facilities for the performing arts; indoor track for athlete training; a full size football stadium and an Olympic track. He said there will also be a new building for the Institute of Physical Education and the School of Performing Arts and a two-storey car park.
Minister Bonnici also mentioned the completion over the next year of two major infrastructure projects being carried out with European Union funds – one linked to a new Centre for Mathematics and Physics and the other linked to a new centre for the post-doctoral field with a total investment of €25 million.
Minister Bonnici continued by saying that at MCAST we will continue with the improvement and construction of more facilities within the Paola campus. During 2021 we will see the completion of the new Centre for Resources and the new Building of Information Technology with a total investment of €23 million from European funds. There will also be an investment in recreational facilities to improve the mental and physical health of the community, MCAST students, and staff.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisation Clifton Grima said that this budget will continue to build on previous budgets and further strengthen investment in sports infrastructure as well as the legacy this government will be leaving in the field of sports.
Firstly, he mentioned how a new authority is going to be created to serve as a sports regulator of different sports areas of national importance. This authority will deal with sporting challenges and international obligations in order to further strengthen justice, transparency and integrity in sport and will be responsible for the regulatory and governance aspect of Maltese sport.
He said that this government has clearly shown that it will treat equestrian sports with its due importance. That is why the government will be converting what has been the Malta Racing Club for more than a hundred years into a new Authority, EquestriMalta. This authority will be responsible of the whole regulatory aspect of the sport involving horses in our country.
Dr Grima stated that investment in sports infrastructure will continue to grow. He stressed that a few weeks ago Valletta FC was given a land title so that it could develop a sports complex. In this same manner, land titles will be given to a number of other clubs so that they too can also have their own sports complex.
The Parliamentary Secretary said that in a few weeks the second phase of the basketball pavilion project in Ta’ Qali will also be inaugurated. Additionally, over 2021, work on the Sirens waterpolo pitch will be finalised, while other works will begin on the waterpolo pitch in Marsaskala and on the Tennis sports facility in Pembroke, while renovations at BMX facilities and the indoor pool at Cottonera will continue.
Parliamentary Secretary Grima also mentioned how the voluntary sector, during 2020, received €3 million in financial aid. He said that the voluntary sector will be further strengthened through the Marsaxlokk Volunteer Center project with an investment of €1.8 million.
In the end, he stressed the importance of youth in our society, the future of this country. The National Youth Policy ‘Towards 2030’ will therefore be implemented in order to address the new challenges that young people will face in the coming years. In addition, the Government will invest in a mobility hub in Santa Venera in order to create more space for international and local exchanges.
