English-language charity stands by its record after ministry terminates services

A charity that promotes English-speaking skills among state school early-age children and teaches debating skills to Sixth Formers, has defended its record of success after the education ministry discontinued its services.

The Education Department will not renew the English-language programme offered by the English-Speaking Union, saying that its annual €40,000 programme had ballooned to a three-year programme that would have cost €411,000.

The ESU said it had only learnt of the refusal of its offer, made earlier in the year to further support its programme, last week. ESU’s request was to extend the programme to at least 11 schools but the ministry has questioned the educational outcome from the programme over the years. 

ESU said it “deserves the serenity” of a three-year rolling contract, and that its services to children aged 3-18 were reaping rich dividends for essential language and communication skills.

“The Education Department could have put up the programme to tender – and we would surely have been the most competitive bidder – but it is now clear that the intention was not to renew, despite our work over a decade in this field,” ESU spokesperson Malcolm Naudi said.

ESU insists that its services – namely employing a director of studies, Pia Zammit, and its ‘Arm of Support’ tutor – are “a good way to spend taxpayers’ funds” because its board is run by volunteers and accounting services are offered to the NGO free of charge.

It was only after it presented the Department of Education a three-year plan to expand the Arm of Support Programme, that the NGO was informed that its contract would no longer be renewed. “ESU Malta has fully respected the terms of the current contract. It has recruited a new Arm of Support tutor and engaged with Sixth Form colleges to enrol students for its public speaking and debating academies the current academic year. All this was done in good faith,” Naudi said.

“Since the contract runs out on 16 November on Wednesday next week, we will cease our contribution, leaving hundreds of children in the lurch. The ESU will then have no choice but to cease operations, making its staff redundant, by the end of the year. Another chapter of ESU Malta will sadly come to a close,” Naudi said.

Educational authorities who spoke to MaltaToday say they are not too impressed with the results achieved and decided to discontinue the contract when the sum requested ballooned, saying this was “way above the contracts awarded until the last scholastic year”.

ESU’s request was to extend the programme to at least 11 schools but the ministry has questioned the educational outcome from the programme over the years.

The programme ‘Arm of Support’ has been running at the Żabbar Primary School A since 2009 and the statistics available to the department over time, including literacy assessment, end-of-year exam results and benchmark exams, “do not show any particular improvement in English language use by students who participated in this programme,” the ministry spokesperson said. 

The ministry said an evaluation showed that the students who participated in this programme remained at the same level as peers who did not take part in it. “The ministry strongly believes in the skills of its educators and entrusts them with the teaching of English at all levels, even spoken English,” the spokesperson said. 

He likened the programme to the “privatisation of spoken English teaching”, adding that if the ministry had the intention to outsource such a service it would issue a public call in line with procurement regulations. “The sum requested would necessitate a public call,” the spokesperson said. 

The English-Speaking Union of Malta is an education charity affiliated with a UK-based organisation, that aims to broaden and deepen the use of English through debate and spoken sessions. 

ESU Malta was established in 2009 to promote spoken English and public speaking. It is mainly present at Zabbar Primary School A and, from last year, Valletta Primary School, through its Arm of Support programme.

The ESU says that since 2014, 500-600 primary schoolchildren in Kinder 1 and Kinder 2, Year 1 and Year 2 – before the English language is taught formally in state schools) – every year get to be exposed to the English language in the context of play, communication and discussion.

The ESU has also worked with Sixth Formers across all state, church and private schools to teach debating skills for their Systems of Knowledge project.

“Over the years, we have seen students progress from 3- to 6-year-olds who are now capable of and confident in debating and discussing issues both in English and Maltese. We have seen sixth form students face oral exams and class presentations with confidence, and go on to lead student organisations and grow hugely in their ability to externalise their thoughts,” Naudi said.

“We can, hand on heart, say that we are shaping the workforce; the healthcare professionals, architects, lawyers, teachers and businesspeople of the future. Being able to communicate effectively is a game-changer both at school and in the workplace. We have prepared hundreds of students to excel in these fields.”