Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1503368
5 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 JULY 2023 spective of their background. On the other hand, in an in- dication that the catchment of church schools is much less elit- ist than independent schools, 68% of these schools (17 out of 25 schools) are classified as "neither disadvantaged nor advantaged". In contrast only 22.2% of those attending independent schools (2 out of 7 schools) fall in this mid- dle category compared to 50.9% of State schools (32 schools out of 63). Maltese society more egalitarian Overall, only 6% of Maltese students were categorised as coming from economically dis- advantaged homes, which is sig- nificantly lower than the interna- tional average (25%). A third of Maltese students (33%) were categorised as com- ing from economically affluent homes which is significantly low- er than the international average (43%). 61% of Maltese students were categorised as coming from homes that are neither affluent nor disadvantaged, which is sig- nificantly higher than the inter- national average (32%). The classification of students by social class was based on infor- mation provided by the heads of schools. Based on this informa- tion schools were clustered ac- cording to students' socio-eco- nomic background. The survey showed that 45.4% of Maltese schools have more than 25% of students com- ing from economically affluent homes and 81.4% of Maltese schools have less than 25% of stu- dents coming from economically disadvantaged homes. But while Maltese schools are more egalitarian in their compo- sition compared to those in most other countries participating in the global survey, the study ex- poses a sharp difference between the class composition of inde- pendent schools and that in State and church schools which is also reflected in their reading abilities. Significantly in another indi- cation of inequality, the bottom 25% of Maltese students scored less than 460 while the top 25% scored more than 575 in the Reading Achievement scale. Moreover, while the percentage of Maltese students scoring more than 550 scale points in reading (36%) was equal to the interna- tional average, the percentage of Maltese students scoring less than 475 scale points in reading (30%) was higher than the inter- national average (25%). KURT SANSONE BRUSSELS is unaware of investi- gations into criminal groups us- ing Syrian airline Cham Wings to traffick people into Europe, Eu- ropean Home Affairs Commis- sioner Ylva Johansson said. But she did confirm that Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Alexandria in Egypt served as transit points between Dhaka in Bangladesh and Benghazi in Lib- ya for Bangladeshi nationals. Replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer, she said Brussels was "closely monitorring" the central Mediterranean migration route, including the transfer of Ban- galdeshi nationals from Libya to Italy. "There are indications that the routes used to reach Libya from Dhaka (Bangladesh) are direct connections between Dubai and Benghazi or Alexandria and Benghazi... the Commission has no information on investiga- tions concerning illegal activity by criminal groups using spe- cific airlines like Cham Wings and others," Johansson replied. Engerer's question was prompt- ed by a MaltaToday report earlier this year that revealed Frontex intelligence on how Bangladeshi migrants are being smuggled aboard charter flights into Lib- ya where they get onto boats to reach Europe. The confidential Frontex report seen by MaltaToday singled out Cham Wings as one of the air- lines used by the criminal groups to smuggle people between Da- mascus in Syria and Benghazi in Libya. Cham Wings is owned by Syrian businessman Issam Shammout. The airline is part of his family business, the Shammout Group, which is active in the automotive, steel, aviation, freight forwarding, construction, and real estate sec- tors. On 20 July last year, the EU lifted sanctions against Cham Wings, after the company was blacklisted in December 2021 for its alleged role in ferrying migrants seeking to cross illegally into Poland from Belarus that summer. However, a day later the EU placed Shammout on its sanc- tions list, calling him a "leading business person operating in Syr- ia". Shammout is contesting the sanctions against him at the Eu- ropean Court of Justice. Cham Wings, which does not operate to EU countries, remains subject to US sanctions and pres- sure is building within the EU to follow suit. The Frontext report shed light on what was a relatively new phenomenon of Bangladeshi mi- grants trying to shortcut the legal channels to come and work in Europe by hooking up with peo- ple smugglers who utilised char- tered flights for the first part of the journey. In its reply the Commission told Engerer that talks on migra- tion and mobility between the EU and Bangladesh in March this year established a perma- nent forum to stop people smug- gling. The Commission also noted that on 6 June it proposed new legislative, operational and dip- lomatic measures to deal with the increasing illicit use of com- mercial transport by criminal networks to facilitate irregular migration into the EU. The proposed toolbox includes measures to "suspend or revoke the operating licence of an EU air carrier" if they no longer meet the good repute requirements of transport legislation. Another proposal is to strengthen cooper- ation and information exchange between the Commission, Fron- text and Eurocontrol to better monitor flights and gather data on emerging routes and patterns of irregular migration. The issue of chartered flights ferrying immigrants to Benghazi was recently raised by a high ranking Maltese government delegation in a first meeting with eastern Libya's supreme com- mander General Khalifa Haftar. The Maltese government's del- egation included the permanent secretary for the foreign affairs ministry and the Cabinet secre- tary. Eastern Libya is governed by the House of Representatives and Haftar, both of which are not recognised by the international community as the legitimate rep- resentatives of Libya. Italy's Prime Minister Gior- gia Meloni earlier this year held meetings with Haftar, in a bid to bridge with eastern Libya where the internationally recognised Government of National Accord wields no power. With migration route along the western shores of Libya practi- cally being stifled, most migrants reaching Italy are now leaving from the east, or from Tunisia. Brussels confirms Dubai, Alexandria are transit points into Libya for Bangladeshi migrants European Commission unaware of investigations into criminal groups and use of Cham Wings for people smuggling Score in PIRLS by school type and socio economic background Score 2021 Score 2016 Independent 564 412 Church 533 471 State 491 447.5 More affluent 521 441 Neither more affluent nor more disadvantaged 502 461 Disadvantaged 479 415 All 515 452 International mean 500 500 What is PIRLS? The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is a comparative study of the reading attainment of 10-year-olds (Year 5). The PIRLS study is held over a five-yearly cycle and is conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Students participating in the study are asked to complete a reading assessment and questionnaire that addresses students' attitudes toward reading and their reading habits. The 3,865 Maltese students that participated in the PIRLS study included 1,893 females and 1,972 males. The sample comprised almost the whole population of 10-year-olds and guaranteed a maximum margin of error of approximately 1% using a 95% degree of confidence. These students, whose average age was 9.9 years, included all 100 primary schools ensuring a good geographical representation. 2,182 students were from 64 state schools, 1,146 students were from 25 church schools and 537 students were from 11 independent schools.