Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546572
THE Nationalist Party has called on government to draw up a national carrying capaci- ty plan following the mayhem caused by Freedom Street festi- val attendees over the weekend. While the plan should cover all sectors, the PN singled out tourism, which it said must clearly shift towards a quali- ty-based model. Last weekend, the three-day Freedom Street festival saw crowds forcing their way into venues without tickets. Festival organisers subsequently can- celled the remaining parties, citing safety concerns, a deci- sion welcomed by the PN. Separate footage, which was widely shared online, showed attendees entering a KFC out- let in Paceville and taking items from behind the counter with- out paying. The footage, the PN said, does no credit to Malta's interna- tional reputation. It also backed the Malta Hotels and Restau- rants Association's statement that episodes such as those witnessed in recent days under- mine the work being carried out by stakeholders across the sec- tor and weaken efforts to attract quality, higher-value tourism to Malta. The PN insisted that govern- ment and all relevant author- ities must take the necessary steps to ensure such incidents are never repeated, including making certain that organisers comply with the conditions at- tached to their permits and car- rying out a serious evaluation of how public funding is allocated to similar activities. It said government must prior- itise the creation of a clear strat- egy centred on quality tourism. 12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS EVA BRANNON ebrannon@mediatoday.com.mt KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt EC language schools announces closure after more than 30 years EC English Malta will close af- ter more than 30 years of oper- ation in Malta, prompting the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Mal- ta (FELTOM) and its member schools to coordinate support for students affected by the clo- sure. In a statement issued on 14 September, FELTOM said it was "saddened" by the news and recognised the significance of the closure for EC's students, staff and Malta's English-lan- guage teaching sector. The organisation said its im- mediate priority was students currently studying in Malta. FELTOM member schools will work together to ensure affect- ed students can continue their English-language studies, with FELTOM coordinating their allocation among participating schools. The federation said the ini- tiative is being supported by 13 member schools: Alpha School of English, AM Lan- guage, BELS Gozo, BELS Mal- ta, Berlitz | English Language Academy, Cavendish School of English, Clubclass English Lan- guage Campus, Easy School of Languages, European School of English, Institute of Eng- lish Language Studies, inlingua Malta, NSTS English Language Institute and Sprachcaffe Lan- guages PLUS. In a separate statement, FEL- TOM said it was "fully en- gaged, prepared and actively coordinating" with its member schools and the ELT Council, which falls under the Ministry for Education. ELTOM said it would remain in close contact with EC, the ELT Council and relevant authorities throughout the transition to ensure stu- dents are supported and that no student is left unattended. "FELTOM is prepared. Our schools are united. Our stu- dents come first," the federation said. EC English Malta has been a longstanding provider in Mal- ta's English-language teaching sector. The company's closure marks the end of more than three decades of operations on the island. FELTOM said further infor- mation would be communi- cated when appropriate, while stressing that the collective re- sponse from its member schools demonstrated the strength and solidarity of Malta's ELT sector. PN calls for national carrying capacity plan after festival mayhem