Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/366326
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 20 AUGUST 2014 7 News Labour MP claims feel-good factor is 'increasing, generally...' HAS August just been recon- firmed as the silly season? Etienne Grech, one of Labour's newly- elected MPs, has issued a state- ment claiming that Malta's 'feel- good factor' "is riding high". Subjective an assessment though it is, Grech claimed in a Labour Party statement that 'courageous' decisions and 'positive energy' in the new Labour administration led to the drop in energy prices, cuts in the prices of school uniforms, new civil rights "that leave nobody out or discriminated against", the lowest rate of unemployment, and a greater number of people work- ing in the private sector. "The feel good factor that has earned the Maltese courage, faith and satisfaction, helps students, workers, investors and entre- preneurs to a clearer and more promising future," Grech said, cit- ing a Eurobarometer survey that showed that 76% of Maltese re- spondents judge Malta's economy positively, and 82% say their fam- ily's financial situation was satis- factory. Up to 140 persons admitted to hospital for self-harming DANIEL MIZZI THE number of persons admit- ted to hospital for self-harming is in Malta below the EU average – between 100 and 140 persons are admitted to hospital for this every year. One week after American ac- tor Robin Williams' suicide sent shockwaves around the world, Monday's edition of the 'Reporter' TVM programme addressed the sensitive issue of mental health and depression. Psychotherapist Mariella Di- mech said that wealth and success do not automatically translate into happiness, adding that per- sons can easily mask their unhap- piness. "No one, especially those under the media spotlight, is seen in to- tal. The majorit y of people are not aware of a victim's personal life, and the whole picture is only seen upon one's death. Everyone is vul- nerable." She told 'Reporter', hosted by Saviour Balzan, that victims could suffer from further problems, such as alcoholism. "Depression is genetic and based on one's life cir- cumstances. It is thus imperative that victims are given support," she underlined. While it is widely agreed that awareness alleviates the possibil- it y of depression, psychiatrist and MP Joe Cassar explained that self- harming, as well as alcohol and drug abuse, are various indicators of depression. Explaining that between 100 and 140 people are admitted to hospi- tal each year due to self-harming, Cassar argued that despite being much lower than the EU average, the rate of self-harming is still of concern. "Depression is not the only thing which can lead a person to com- mit suicide. Being emarginated from societ y, or feeling superhu- man, and most notably alcohol and drug abuse may lead someone to commit suicide," Cassar ex- plained. Moreover, he added, youths aged between 20-29 years tend to com- mit the most suicide attempts – which according to Cassar is inf luenced by a youth 's inabilit y to address his problems except by drugs. This was seconded by Dimech who added that "a youth 's life must not be solely focused on school, but conversely, it must vary and also include pleasure to ensure that youths do not enter the adult world at a tender age." On his part, Xarabank host Peppi Azzopardi said that sharing one's problems is also fundamen- tal in creating awareness about depression. "It is a good thing for media people to share their psychiatric problems and their battle with depression on air as this creates greater awareness." "One need not be ashamed of seeking psychological help. I have visited a psychiatrist and that is nothing to be ashamed of," Azzo- pardi said. Early school- leavers receive certification in vocational subjects TIM ATTARD MONTALTO SEVENTYTHREE youngsters who took part in the Alternative Learning Programme (ALP) were presented with certificates during a ceremony which was held yesterday at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The ALP is a government initiative, undertaken by the Education Ministry, which began in January of this year. It was designed specifically for fifth-form- ers who, back in December, had not ap- plied for any MATSEC Ordinary Level examination. Subsequently, the programme opened its doors for these students and offered them the chance to apply for vocational courses such as mechanical work or hairdressing. In this way, students had the opportunity to resurrect their ca- reers. A ministry spokesman said that some students have even reached Level 3 in some subjects – the equivalent of an O-level standard. Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, who was in attendance, praised the stu- dents for their perseverance. He said that it would have been easier for the students to decline the ministry's offer but they were courageous for accepting. "One parent told me that his son did not love school," he said. "I will go one step further and say that it is the edu- cation system that does not love these children. If it did, we would realise from before that this was not the right system for these children." He said that initiatives like this should be started earlier and not in a student's fifth form year. "Why is there need to leave someone in school for 10 years if the fit is not right, only to then try and help in the last few months?" The programme's director, Mario Car- dona, explained that institutions such as the ETC and MCAST were instrumen- tal in helping to make the programme possible. "It was our aim to keep these young people as part of the educational system," he said. "But we wanted to do this by offering them something slightly different to what they were used to. With these qualifications, they could go on to enrol in the several foundation courses at MCAST or ITS." Stressing that this was not a one-off initiative and that it would be repeated in the coming years, Cardona said that programmes such as these could help to combat the "big challenge" of early school-leavers in Malta. Recent Eurostat statistics showed that Malta had the sec- ond highest rate of early school-leavers across the EU. The ceremony was attended by close to 100 students, with a handful taking it in turns to describe their personal experi- ences, what led to them applying for the course, and how they fared when part of it. One student, Mark, said that back in January he wanted to leave school be- cause he wasn't enjoying it but his overall mood changed when he was contacted to participate in the programme. He is now studying carpentry. A parent spoke about how he used to take his son to work with him so that he would not get lazy. The programme helped to give his son a sense of disci- pline, he said. Before the ceremony, two others had already been held – with one being held in Gozo for students who participated in similar courses on Malta's sister island. In related news, a ministry spokes- person said that the Youth Guarantee Scheme – launched by the government a few months ago – was reaching its tar- get. Furthermore, more professionals are expected to be included in the scheme, with traineeships also set to be offered to students. Labour MP Etienne Grech PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Psychiatrist and MP Joe Cassar