PN MP Challenges Prime Minister To Spend A Few Lessons Inside Boiling Classrooms Without ACs
As temperatures soar to above 30°C, the PN’s education spokesperson Justin Schembri has issued a pretty straightforward challenge to Prime Minister Robert Abela… to sit inside a classroom that doesn’t have a functioning AC.
“Every year is the same, a pandemic of heat,” Schembri said. “Despite the government’s promises every year, many classrooms remain without an AC. Classrooms are packed and the conditions inside many of them are intolerable, we’re literally showing that we don’t truly care about our children.”
“These are the same classrooms in which our children will sit for their exams in a few days’ time.”
Malta’s general government expenditure on education is one of the highest in the EU, with an estimated 13.9% of public funds invested in education as opposed to 10.2% at EU level.
This is over and beyond the €30 million that the government spent as of December 2020 on ensuring schools are compliant with COVID-19 protocols.
“One might ask where the money is going if it’s not being invested in classrooms,” Schembri asked. “Is it all going on consultancies? I invite the Prime Minister and the Education Minister to enter and stay for at least a few lessons in these conditions to understand. In fact, I challenge them.”
The problem of non-air-conditioned schools has long been brewing and seems to raise its head every few summers.
Back in 2019, the Education Ministry said most schools remain without ACs because their electrical infrastructure cannot handle the load they would entail.
Do you think every single classroom should have an AC?
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