April 2000	Update: Malta

Sources:

• Central Office of Statistics
  http://www.magnet.mt/home/cos/index.html
• Malta Government Information Network (MAGNET)
  http://www.magnet.mt
• SearchMalta – the Directory of Maltese Websites
  http://www.searchmalta.com
• The Museums Department and the Libraries Department at the Ministry of Education do not have a website yet.

Commentary:

One should keep in mind the size of the Malta when analyzing the figures. Malta has a population of 370,000 living on an area of 420 square km, making it one of the densest populations in the world.

Many of the websites of primary and secondary are the initiative of individual schools and not a concerted effort by the Ministry of Education. Internet access in public schools for the time being is available only in schools that took the initiative. The project to introduce access in all public schools, which had to be launched in October 1998, has been postponed with no alternative date given.

The website of the University of Malta (http://www.um.edu.mt) was one of the pioneering websites in Malta and remains the best educational website in Malta.

The website of the Malta Government Network (MAGNET) provides information about all the government ministries and departments, but two ministries in particular (Foreign Affairs and Finance) have their own website outside MAGNET. Some departments, like the Environmental Protection Department have chosen to set their own website outside MAGNET.

The only website of a museum is actually on MAGNET's domain name, but it has a distinctive character and can be held as separate.

Several Local Councils took the initiative to have their own website. It is envisaged that with the networking of all 67 Local Councils into a digital value-added network, which began to be implemented in 4^th Quarter 1999, each Council will have an automatic on-line presence in the form of a website.

Developments between January and March 2000:

Despite the beginning of the new scholastic/academic year in all educational establishments in the Maltese Islands, there wasn’t any increase in the number of websites related to education.

However, government officials have announced that the negotiations were still under way and that the final agreement to introduce Internet access in public schools should be signed sometime in April.

Although the number of websites of schools and other educational institutions has not increased much, there has been a slow move towards Maltese educational content, especially resources for teachers. Two sites were launched to cater for teachers at the primary level.