Opposition wants to be represented on Education Institute board

The Opposition should get to allocate its own representative on the board of a newly formed Institute for Education, Opposition MP George Pullicino said.

Pullicino, the PN’s education spokesperson, was speaking in the Parliament building after presenting deputy Speaker Censu Galea with a motion to amend two clauses in a legal notice that established the Institute earlier this year.

“If the government truly believes in policies of continuity in the education sector, then the Opposition should be given the right to nominate a person to this new board,” Pullicino said. “That way, the Opposition will be able to follow the board’s work and contribute to it when necessary.” 

PN deputy leader Mario de Marco called for an end to the “mentality” that that the party in government should be the only one that elects representatives to boards.

The motion also calls for the board to include two representatives from private schools- one from church schools and one from independent- rather than the one private school representative stipulated in the legal notice.

The Institute was set up to develop a leadership vision for schools, to serve as a forum for educational policy discussion, and to encourage a reflective educational leadership.