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maltatoday SUNDAY 6 MAY 2018 2 News MASSIMO COSTA ADDING two exam options for "foreign" and "vocational" Mal- tese to the existing Maltese MAT- SEC exam will "sow confusion in schools and among students", a the University of Malta's Department of Maltese and other academic en- tities said. In a statement signed by the Ak- kademja tal-Malti, the departments of Maltese at the Junior College and University of Malta and the In- stitute of Linguistics, l-Ghaqda tal- Malti, and the societies of Maltese poets and Maltese proof-readers, Dr Adrian Grima threw cold wa- ter on the Education Ministry's plans, saying students who needed help passing their exam required stronger investment in the teach- ing of Maltese instead of "splin- tering the current SEC course and wreaking havoc." The educational bodies asked the ministry to explain clearly to the public in which ways the vocation- al Maltese exam would be different from the current exam. "Which are the skills that will no longer be acquired by the stu- dents taking this course? Which basic components of language learning will the Ministry remove from the education of second- ary students? Which 'vocation' (or occupation) will it cater for? Will it apply to all possible 'voca- tions'?" they asked. SEC certification in Maltese is a marker of the standard of knowledge one has of the Mal- tese language, serving as a basic instruction for students choosing different routes in employment and post-secondary education. The ministry is now planning to introduce simpler version of the Maltese exams aimed at foreign students seeking certification for University admission, or other vocational routes where Maltese might not necessarily be required. The ministry has been unclear about the criteria employed not to discriminate between SEC stu- dents, and has been on the receiv- ing end of criticism that it was de- valuing the language. Grima also expressed further misgivings for the plans for the creation of a "vocational route" in secondary schools, arguing that since there will be a new version of the Maltese SEC exam as from May 2022 – consisting of two pa- pers catering for different levels according to students' skills – there was no need for a different exam. "It is clear that for the ministry, vocational Maltese and SEC Mal- tese have different levels," main- taining that the ministry was giv- ing the impression of a system of "different routes" where the only difference are the teaching meth- ods adopted, while still requiring different exams that however car- ry the same qualification level of MQF3. "We believe that this is just a way of lowering the level of Maltese while giving the same certifica- tion," Grima said. "The impover- ishment of the national language will be institutionalised under the guise of different syllabi, which will in actual fact gradually erode the fundamental contents of Mal- tese (such as grammar, reading and writing)." "We believe that there should be different teaching methods that reach all students but that these should all prepare them for the SEC exam which already caters for two different levels," the statement recommended. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt Students choosing 'vocational Maltese' route would have an impoverished knowledge of Maltese, be disadvantaged all their lives Academics warn: Maltese vocational exam will 'sow confusion, wreak havoc' TIA RELJIC THE government is set to go ahead with the conversion of a run-down building that previ- ously formed part of a Victoria school, into a museum of his- tory and culture because it risks losing out on €4 million in EU Funds. The building, known as the Ninu Cremona Block, was picked out by former Gozo Minister Anton Refalo when he was still in office, but the cur- rent ministry could not afford to lose the funds it had acquired for the museum. The project, worth €3,671,941, was 80% co-financed by the Eu- ropean Development Fund. Scrapping it, therefore, would have meant losing nearly €4 million in funds. Labour MP Anton Refalo – an avid art collector now ap- pointed chairman of Heritage Malta – yesterday did not an- swer calls and an SMS message from MaltaToday for com- ment. Sources said the former min- ister was urged not to pick the school as the site for the muse- um – particularly by the edu- cation ministry – but the plans went ahead and the funds were approved nonetheless. The EU-funded project, titled The Establishment of a Re- gional Museum for Gozo, aims to establish a new institution which would enable the "inter- pretation of Gozo's culture and history," particularly by tour- ists. It would also provide per- forming and exhibiting spaces for artists and contribute to- wards the socio-economic de- velopment of Gozo. But the Malta Union of Teach- ers (MUT) said that they were "highly disappointed" with the decision to go ahead with con- verting the dilapidated build- ing into a museum, since they said there was a pressing need to relocate the town's primary school to a modern and ad- equate building. Instead, the government will relegate the current middle school building into a smaller area, and use the limited space to extend the building to also house a primary school, MUT said, adding that students and educators deserve "proper edu- cational facilities" and not "ex- tensions". Gozo school making way for museum at risk of losing EU funds MASSIMO COSTA THE Nationalist Party will be creating a young people's arm, "Start", within which teenagers aged 14 to 17 can participate, in an effort to renew the party and give the younger generation a more important role. The party's general conference is set to start today and will, over the next eight days, discuss the events of the previous year and set out a vision for the future. Addressing a press conference yesterday, PN secretary-general Clyde Puli said the party had recognised the challenges facing Malta, and in order to address them, was first looking within it- self to find what changes needed to be carried out. "We do not want to be a party which only reacts to situations as they arise – we want to have a structured vision which can give the country what it needs," he said. He said the conference's theme will be "Building a Future To- gether". "This implies the enthusiasm of a young party," he highlighted. "During this year's conference we will discuss various themes, but the most radical will be a change to the party's statute, where we are going to make it possible for more young people to be involved in the leadership of the party, with the aim of increasing their representation in the administra- tive and executive sections." Puli said that he would be put- ting forth a motion to include eight new members within the party's executive who are under 30, bringing the total of such members to 14. Joseph Grech, secretary-gener- al of the PN's youth movement MZPN, emphasised that young people were always an impor- tant part of the party's politics, and now that 16 and 17 year olds have been given the vote, it was again the time to welcome a wave of youngsters who were ready to involve themselves. "The young people's arm will be working hand in hand with MZPN, which will be helping and assisting it. We want our young- sters to be represented in the highest places within the party," Grech said. PN General Council president Kristie Debono underlined that the conference would also in- clude discussions in band clubs, where activists, local councillors and party members would have a chance to make their voice heard, putting into practice Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia's way of doing politics from the ground up. mcosta@mediatoday.com.mt PN launches party arm for youngsters aged 14 to 17 Adrian Grima