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Skola Sajf WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 15 JULY 2015 • ISSUE 424 • PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY €1.00 PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD EDITORIAL PAGE 10 Newspaper post Skola Sajf off to a rocky start after parents express concern over saftey issues on fi rst day of school, immediate steps to rectify situation have been taken ministry reassures Skola Sajf Skola Sajf off to a rocky start after parents express concern over saftey issues on fi rst day of school, Parents concerned about lax supervision Skola Sajf MARTINA BORG THE first day of the government-run Skola Sajf had a somewhat rocky start on Monday after parents expressed their concern over the lax supervision of children especially before and after school hours. A parent who collected her child from the Naxxar public school was shocked to discover that, not only did she find her daughter wandering around the school alone, but that she was even al- lowed to pick her daughter up without getting her ID card checked. In comments to MaltaToday, a min- istry spokesperson reassured that fol- lowing Monday's incident all necessary steps to rectify the situation were taken and all entrance and exit points were under supervision. The concerned parent took to Face- book to vent her experience, where a heated discussion with other concerned parents ensued over the logistical issues which had been made evident on just the first day of the service being offered. Contacted by Malta Today, the mother said that she had already had some con- cerns about the ratio of handlers to chil- dren when she dropped off her daughter at the school in the morning. "I had to position myself between the front door and the yard until the children were taken to their respective groups to keep them from getting out," she said. The mother from yesterday's event ex- plained that despite the initial hiccup, her daughter had in fact thoroughly en- joyed the classes and that the tutors had been very well prepared and equipped to entertain the children. "The problem here is a logistical one," she said, de- scribing her experience. The mother, who went to pick up her daughter at the designated time (12.30pm), was immediately struck by the disorder outside the school. "There needs to be some sort of trans- port system or at least a traffic warden to ensure that there isn't so much con- fusion at pick-up time," she said, adding that the situation got worse as she actu- ally entered the school. CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 Telecoms giant Huawei signs MoU with Malta to test 5G MARTINA BORG CHINESE telecommunications giant Huawei has signed a memo- randum of understanding with the Maltese government research and develop technologies in the coun- try. The MoU includes a commit- ment by Huawei to start testing 5G; which is over two times as fast as 3G and makes connectivity sys- tems easier. The understanding also implies that the company will help the country develop its digital Malta strategy. The strategy includes a nation- wide fibre-to-home project and fibre wire connectivity to other countries aside from Sicily. Gaming Authority executive chairman Joseph Cuschieri, tasked by the government to follow the project, said the agreement will not lead to the duplication of services. "Huawei," he added, "looked forward to partnering with local companies according to the way the project developed at the begin- ning." Cuschieri explained that 5G is not commercially available to the public anywhere in the world, and that developments in the technol- ogy could put Malta at the fore- front. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Malta is ready to test new frontiers CONTINUES ON PAGE 3