James Debono A study by the national equality body says religions are not being given equal importance in Maltese state schools, which continue a tradition of Catholic religious education, leaving non-Catholics without a degree of religious education.
The Voice for All study by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality referred to a “significant discrepancy” between Catholic and non-Catholic students in the provision of free education, because while Catholic religion is thought in government schools, other religions are not given equal importance.
“Whereas Catholic families are free to choose between paid private or Church schools and free State education, non-Catholics do not have such an option if they wish their child to obtain a degree of religious education within the school they attend.”
The reality greatly hits Muslims, the second largest religion in Malta, where unlike Catholic families they do not have free tuition that includes religious education for their children.
The report noted that unlike Church schools, the faith-based Mariam al Batool primary school gets no State funding, instead depending on voluntary donations to supplement the funding from the World Islamic Call Society.
Even the national curriculum’s emphasis on religions other than Catholicism is merely perfunctory, consisting of “no more than a few hours tuition on the other major world religions, with little focus on the positive impact of inter-faith dialogue within a community.”
In this sense the Mariam al Batool school is an exception to the rule – while the focus of religious teaching is based on Islam, the majority of staff members are Catholics and basic Catholic tuition is offered in line with the national curriculum.
Indeed the study notes how the school highlights “shared values and beliefs amongst various religions.”
The study also said Maltese schools fail to adapt to the needs of pupils from ethnic minorities, and denounced the lack of an integration policy in education.
And it blamed traditional values influenced by “the moral authority of the Catholic faith” for the inertia in addressing gay discrimination. “These values, although not static, are felt throughout Maltese society, particularly in the lack of political will to regularise the legislative measures prohibiting discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation to cover all aspects of social life, and to introduce provisions to counter this discrimination.”
‘The Marsa phenomenon’
The report noted how little is done to regularise migrants’ employment, and that of asylum seekers that are illegally employed.
“The casual nature of the employment of asylum seekers is evidenced by what is often referred to as the ‘Marsa phenomenon’, where a number of persons living in the nearby open centre congregate at a busy junction each morning hoping to be picked up by a passing prospective employer who is looking for a short-term employee (often for merely a few days),” the report says.
According to the study, the authorities have so far adopted a reactive stance – identifying problems and working towards solving them – rather than a proactive stance with regards to discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnicity.
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