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MALTATODAY 19 May 2019

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20 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2019 20 May, 2009 BWSC contract awarded amid 'strange' claims GOVERNMENT has awarded a €200 million contract for the extension of the Delimara power plant to Scandinavian firm Burmeister & Wain (BWSC), that has reportedly submit- ted a prototype, never tested, and highly pol- luting technology that runs on heavy fuel oil and will require handling between 50 to 60 tonnes of toxic waste per day. The news was confirmed by Director of Contracts Francis Attard, who replied to this paper yesterday in the wake of the controver- sy surrounding the public tender, following allegations of irregularities during the process of adjudication. … While no environmental impact assessment was conducted or is scheduled to be conduct- ed in the near future, government surprisingly increased the emission limits by means of a Legal Notice published on 4 January 2008. The call for tenders had been issued in 2007: a fact which has since raised questions about whether the legal notice may have compromised the adjudicating process by changing the selection criteria for the original contract specifications. Furthermore, it has been observed that the footprint of the existing facility in Delimara provides sufficient space only for Phase Two of the extension of the plant, and not for Phase Three, that will have to be considered when the Marsa power plant will have to be shut down by 2015. The issue has been brewing since March, when multinational Hutney-Bateman – also a bidder for the same contract – wrote a let- ter to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi with a series of allegations about irregularities dur- ing the adjudicating process. These irregularities allegedly prejudiced Hutney-Bateman's offer; however the Israeli company's claims were ignored until last week, when a copy of their complaint was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee. The PAC in turn requested "verification" of the details through the Finance ministry's permanent secretary and the Auditor General. These verifications were still under way until last night and according to parliamentary of- ficials, the Public Accounts Committee will be expecting a first report during next Tuesday evening's meeting. Minister Austin Gatt on Monday hit back at Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat for speaking about the matter, and accused him of "representing" the Israeli-owned firm: a charge immediately denied by Muscat and Hutney-Bateman. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week 'Putting children at risk' Editorial "Have you ever heard of a referendum asking people whether they should have a bypass operation or get medicine for high blood pressure?" Doctors for Choice spokesperson Dr Matthew Drake on being asked whether abortion should be legislated by referendum A recent controversy surrounding sex educa- tion in Malta – in particular, how the subject is currently being taught in PSCD lessons – is ironically also a very good example of why such subjects are needed in the first place. It began when the parents of a 10-year-old schoolchild (one of them a former PSCD teacher) took to Facebook to complain about a workbook published by the Education De- partment. It later transpired that these two parents are somewhat associated with Ivan Grech Mintoff, the self-styled leader of Alleanza Bidla – a conservative, Christian political party contesting this week's European elec- tions – which has in the past also associated itself with elements from River Of Love min- istry, that separately was involved in various similar controversies: mainly regarding its views of homosexuality as 'pathological' and 'immoral'. These views are strongly reflected in the substance of the parents' complaint. "[When I used to teach] we talked about sexuality, but not this filth, these diabolical lessons. I was surprised, I was shocked at the diaboli- cal lessons, the dirty lessons in this book for 10-year-olds, who, like my daughter have no idea what is being shown to them," the mother said. "The book features people introducing themselves as gay, wearing their underwear, introducing themselves as gay superheroes… I want to ask, what has it all come to for us to be teaching this to 10-year-olds," she said. Another issue appears to be the fact that the book includes "a conversation between a boy and a girl who look about 11 or 12". "They discuss how the boy feels when they are near each other, how he feels when she is near him and when she is pressing on him, and the same for her. This is what is being taught in PSCD in Year 6." The Education Ministry responded by pub- lishing the workbook online: and under scru- tiny, the PSCD workbook can be seen to be very age-appropriate. It introduces children to the inevitable acceptance of themselves as sexual beings, and prepares them to safe- guard themselves when that happens. Paradoxically, it is partly because of this educational need that those parents' con- cerns are, in a general sense, understand- able. They themselves are products of a very different educational system, which until recently was based on strict gender segrega- tion… until the age of 15/16, when boys and girls would suddenly mingle, with no prepa- ration whatsoever, at the most 'critical' (as it were) age. Sex education may not have been entirely absent from the curriculum, even then; but until recently it was almost exclusively re- served to the home. Parents had – or thought they had – 'con- trol' over this aspect of their children's upbringing, too. It was, however – and still remains – the illusion of control. Children are inevitably going to become adolescents, then adults: with or without any preparation for the changes, from parents, from school, or from anywhere else. It is precisely to ease that transition, that the subject is now being taught in schools… where it is needed most, at the point of con- tact between the sexes. One must also point out that the State – which has a Constitutional obligation to pro- vide free education in Malta – is duty-bound to ascertain that the same level of education is made available to everybody. Moreover, the workbook itself was crafted by experts in the curriculum department, together with child psychologists. It does not follow that the religious convic- tions of a parent should trump a well-crafted education that serves the needs of society. One of these needs is having a generation that can stay safe sexually, which respects diverse sexual identities, and learns how to be safe online. An interesting observation came from one PSCD teacher:"The family unintentionally proves how indispensable the PSCD subject is in our curriculum. Although the majority of parents have their children's well-being at heart, most don't have the competencies or the time to educate their children them- selves, and hence why schools are obligatory and we rely on qualified educators. This is the state's way of safeguarding the right to education for all, to ensure that our children are equipped with adequate information and skills to become effective individuals and citi- zens. In this situation, the parents' behaviour is unwittingly putting their child at risk […] because wanting to deprive your son/daugh- ter of important information/awareness, in a hyper-sexualised society, is putting your child at risk." Indeed, the pictures in thePSCDbooklet present children with pictures of differ- ent families, including a nun with children, single-mum/single-dad families, two dad and two mum families, children with grand- parents... thus empowering children to draw their own picture of their own family, with- out fear of failing to conform to an estab- lished societal norm. This is an affirmative and empowering message, which contrasts with the way identities were erased in the not so distant past. Nor should the undeniable existence of di- verse family structures be any form of 'threat' to the previously established societal norm. In the main, the basic Maltese family remains very much rooted in the union between a man and a woman, with a view to having children. Recognising variations from this norm does nothing to lessen those bonds. But it could help destigmatising people born into differ- ent social realities. This is the Malta we should be embracing.

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