New school conduct and emergency protocols to be introduced, Abela says

Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that government will introduce a new behavioural framework for students across Malta’s schools, setting out protocols on conduct, searches, and emergency responses.

Speaking during an education-focused “room4ideas” discussion at the MCAST campus in Paola, Abela said the framework will first be discussed with school heads before being published.

The measure is set to be implemented in the early months of the new legislative term following consultations with school heads.

Abela also underlined the need to revise the national curriculum, particularly in light of developments in AI and the need to strengthen vocational education.

Focusing on AI, Abela said governments do not yet have all the answers on how to address the challenges it poses, but insisted Malta should seek to transform the issue into an opportunity for young people.

“We need to make the challenge of AI into a massive opportunity for the next generation,” Abela said.

He said fears surrounding technological change were understandable, drawing comparisons with previous challenges brought about by digitalisation and climate change.

Continuing on technology, Abela also raised concerns over young people’s use of social media, saying he could not accept children spending up to nine hours a day in front of a screen. He referred to a recent public consultation on reforms concerning social media and young people.

Abela also stressed the importance of vocational education, arguing that the closure of vocational schools in the past had repercussions for the country’s workforce.

Abela said Malta’s challenge is not a lack of opportunities, but rather having too few young people to take advantage of them. That considered, Abela insisted that jobs should first be filled by Maltese students and workers, with foreign workers brought in only where local demand cannot be met. 

He said government must therefore continue investing in the upskilling and reskilling of workers to ensure the country has the skills needed for a changing economy.

On educators, Abela said around 200 new teachers had joined the sector this year, describing investment in teachers as the foundation of the education system the government wants to build.

He also underlined that such investments are only possible because of Malta's strong economy.