Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1164600
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 SEPTEMBER 2019 7 NEWS A nine-storey hotel is being proposed instead of the two storey high Kazin Jum l-Indip- endenza, the PN's party politi- cal club in Gzira. The proposed 3 star hotel will include a basement level, a reception and a cafeteria at ground floor and hotel ac- commodation from between level 1 and level 9. The ninth storey will also include a pool deck area. Eric Saliba who works for the J.Portelli Projects has pre- sented the application. If approved development will rise two full storeys and a receded floor above the height limitation of the area possibly benefitting from a policy, which permits ho- tels to rise two storeys above height set by the local plan. The streetscape of the area is already dominated by the 21 storey high 14 East develop- ment. The building was originally earmarked for 5 storey high studio apartments, for which a planning permit was issued last June to the sole owner of the property, a certain Mark Agius. In the latest applica- tion Saliba is listed as the full owner. According to a spokesperson for the PN, the building did not belong to the party. "It is rented from third parties," he said, without saying when the lease agreement was termi- nated. The building has been closed for a while with the party sectional committee meeting there occasionally. "It no longer remained a hive of activity as it was in the past and the sectional committee is lethargic, demotivated," a PN member from the locality had told MaltaToday. PN's Gzira club now earmarked for nine- storey hotel JAMES DEBONO KARL AZZOPARDI THE Union for Professional Educators has raised con- cern over the employment of foreign teachers to make up for the lack of educators in the work force. "This shows an apparent lack of long term planning," UPE CEO Graham Sansone said in his reaction to com- ments made by Education Minister Evarist Bartolo to The Malta Independent on Sunday. Bartolo said the govern- ment was in talks with the Malta Union of Teachers on the matter, in a bid to plug the shortage of teachers. But the news has not gone down too well with the UPE. At a press conference on Tuesday, Sansone said the lack of qualifications need- ed will result in long-term repercussions. "It was pointed out by Frank Fabri (education per- manent secretary) that the entry requirements will be equivalent to those of a sup- ply teacher, meaning that no pedagogical knowledge and experience will be ex- pected," the UPE CEO said. The lack of cultural knowl- edge will also be an issue, according to the union, be- cause this will create hur- dles in the student's educa- tion. "We are fearing a culture shock with such a large in- flux of foreign educators," the union said. "One tends to forget that teachers are not only deliv- ering academic knowledge but are rather the mother and father figure who un- derstand the social and cul- tural dynamics of the class," they said. The issue of increasing the foreign workforce popula- tion and its impact on the country's infrastructure was also cited by the union. The UPE said that when reviewing the Labour Par- ty's 2013 and 2017 election manifestos, both had great proposals targeting the teaching profession. The union insisted that had these proposals been implemented, they would have prevented the educa- tion system's current state. "Had the proposals been acted upon, we would not be experiencing the current shortage of teachers, which is plaguing the system and which has created the need to consider employing for- eign teachers," the UPE said. Asked what proposals the UPE recommends in order for the education system to improve, it said that initia- tives for students to take up teaching must take priority. "We feel that financial incentives to retain teach- ers, higher student stipends and early retirement should be made a priority," the UPE said. The union also stated that professional advancement should be provided to edu- cators. UPE disagrees with foreign teachers The Union for Professional Educators says that lack of qualifications and pedagogical differences may have long term repercussions and warns of cultural barriers that may hinder students' learning experience