Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/761508
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2016 16 News YANNICK PACE THE start of the current scho- lastic year saw roughly 17,000 students return to school in ap- proximately 84 church schools in Malta, which make up roughly 40% of all schools. As such, these faith schools – whose teachers' salaries are paid by the State – play an important role in educating a big portion of the Maltese student population. Church schools are run by vari- ous religious orders, all of which are dependent on religious voca- tions into the order to propagate the orders' ethos and traditions. But with vocations on the de- cline for years, the running of many of the church schools has been taken over by lay teachers, rather than members of the or- ders. Several heads of school and provincial superiors have said that while the effects of the de- cline in vocations are noticeable now, the situation could get a lot worse in the near future. "At the moment, we are still succeeding in passing on the or- der's traditions and charisma to the schools, however we haven't had a new vocation in some 18 years. My worry is for the next generation of headmistresses be- cause we have no new vocations and a day will come when there is nobody to pass on the school's traditions," said Sister Cecilia Schembri, provincial superior of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Ap- parition. This was echoed by Brother Martin Borg, provincial supe- rior for Lasallian schools in Malta that include Stella Maris and De La Salle Colleges. Borg agreed that the situation is not good as they too have not been getting many new vocations in recent years. "The problem is serious. It has been around for a long time and it is still with us," he said. He said the order is looking at ways of counteracting this prob- lem and that in the meantime, to keep the orders' traditions alive, the school offers teachers the op- tion to undergo training courses in the spirituality of the order's founder. Not all orders however are fac- ing the same struggles. Fr Eric Cachia, headmaster at Savio Col- lege, said that at the moment the order has 12 new vocations, all of whom are university graduates. "We don't really have a prob- lem at the moment, thank- fully, the future looks quite good," he said. He said that the school still be- lieves in continu- ity and in having teachers who are very much in sync with the or- der's philosophy. "The lay teachers we have working at the school are all very dedi- cated and have immersed them- selves quite well in the order's heritage and tradi- tions," he said. Kenneth Vella, headmaster at Mater Boni Consilii and author of a PhD thesis on the subject, explained that schools' tradition, ethos and heritage are funda- mental to the operation of these schools. "All schools have an ethos; however, church schools also have their own heritage and tra- ditions, which they've had for many years and as a result it is very important for the schools to keep this identity," said Vella. While schools' identity is threatened by declining voca- tions, Vella said that his re- search, which was carried out at the University of Lincoln, sug- gests that identity has not yet been lost and he is more optimis- tic about the future. He argues that church schools in Malta, contrary to faith schools abroad, are helped by the fact that Malta is a small country where Catholi- cism is still strong. Moreover, he said that the 1991 agreement between the Church and the state – which recognised the right of the church to establish and lead its own schools with autonomy – is also a big factor in the schools' resilience. "The agree- ment puts c h u r c h schools on par with other schools in the country. The conditions for people work- ing in these schools are as good as they are in other schools and not prohibitive to recruiting talented teachers," he said. According to Vel- la, the prominence of Catholi- cism in Malta, coupled with the fact that working conditions in church schools are as good as they are in other schools, means that there is less difficulty in finding good teachers whose world view is in line with that of the respective orders. "If there is still an influence of members of the orders in the schools, it is a lot easier to find lay people who can take over and offer continuity," he said. Vella said that, even though no nuns are involved in the running of Mater Boni Consilii school, the order's nuns are often in- cluded in activities, to preserve the link between the school and the re- ligious order. In addition to this he said that it is essen- tial for there to be prop- er train- ing for those who wish to take on leadership roles within these schools, such as the newly set up Master's degree in Catholic leadership at the University. The course prepares those who want to take up leadership roles in church schools and Vella's hope is that this will alleviate some of the ef- fects declining vocations could have on the schools. While this could help, it re- mains to be seen how these schools will adapt as their orders become smaller and smaller. Decline in religious vocations not affecting church schools, for now Sr. Cecilia Xuereb Fr Eric Cachia Bro. Martin Borg Valletta's historic landscape 'mutilated' by unauthorised rooftop additions MIRIAM DALLI VALLETTA'S historic landscape is being "mutilated" by unauthorised rooftop additions, according to Din l-Art Helwa, which published pho- tographs of developments on two historic palazzi, which it argues were carried out without the necessary permits. One palazzo is situated in Mer- chants Street corner with St Christo- pher Street, and the other is at 176, Merchants Street. "In the case of the former, a new floor has been added at rooftop level without planning permission, while in the case of the latter, a rooftop structure has been built that is far larger than that for which planning permission was obtained, and rises like a sore thumb above the sur- rounding historic roofscape," the NGO said. The palace at 167 Merchants Street, on the corner with St Christopher Street, was known as Casa Roselli Massa, and has a well-documented historic connection with the church of the Jesuit College which was even- tually to become the University of Malta. It was the home of the wealthy philanthropist and goldsmith Pi- etro Rosselli (d. 1676) and his wife Alusietta Massa (daughter of Anto- nio Massa, Master of the Mint), who are buried in their family chapel at the Jesuit Church across the road, for which three large paintings were commissioned of Mattia Preti. The Roselli heron and the initials P.R. and A.M. still appear over the main door at 167, Merchants Street. While commending the Planning Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage for all their ef- forts to date in this regard, Din l-Art Helwa said it remained concerned by the flagrant nature of these abusive works, which erode the outstand- ing universal value of Valletta and threaten its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "Our nation's commitment to safeguard Valletta can only be taken seriously if such abuse is dealt with in an exemplary fashion. The contractor must be obliged to reverse all unauthorised works, including the dismantling of the unauthorised rooftop additions, and must be held responsible for any damage done to the historic fabric. "If, to add insult to injury, any at- tempt is made to request retroactive sanctioning for the unauthorised rooftop additions, or for any other unauthorised works, this should be summarily rejected." 'All schools have an ethos; however, church schools also have their own heritage and traditions, which they've had for many years and as a result it is very important for the schools to keep this identity