Student organisation, Pulse, has reacted to the Government’s recent proposal to reduce traffic congestion by amending school hours. Its reaction was published on Facebook earlier this afternoon and is as follows:
“Pulse welcomes the publication of a White Paper which aims to deal with traffic issues throughout the peak hours of the scholastic year. This issue has been ignored for way too long and requires immediate action and a holistic strategy in order to be properly mitigated. Indeed, while some of the proposals presented, including a unified transport service for all localities, instead of a specific service per school, as well as the encouragement of public transport usage by secondary school students are indeed commendable, Pulse believes that more alternative long-term solution should be identified. Pulse understands the concerns of students and parents who are worried that with the proposal of extending school opening hours, students run the risk of diminishing their productivity and overall performance. However, we believe that it’s high time to have a national conversation on long-term sustainability of our traffic management systems, with clear proposal and solutions. For this reason, Pulse is opening a consultation process with Secondary and Post-Secondary Students, as well as parents of students, inviting them to send in their concerns and suggestions in order to help us compile a detailed report which we will be presenting to the Minister for Education as part of the White Paper process. Any suggestions and proposals can be sent to info@pulsemalta.com by September 20th. Pulse, as always remains committed to be a voice for all students in any issue which directly affects them.”
However, traffic solutions must be formulated in the context of always ensuring the best academic productivity from our students.
Following the publication of Pulse’s statement, The Third Eye has contacted the organisation’s Secretary General, Joseph Masini, who commented, “I believe that it is positive that we finally have a clear commitment from the Government to tackle an issue that has been plaguing our country for decades. However, traffic solutions must be formulated in the context of always ensuring the best academic productivity from our students. This balance will form the basis of our document, which we will be compiling throughout the upcoming month, based on students’ and parents’ suggestions and feedback.”
