The education budget

I have lately been reading press articles by pro-government writers advocating a drastic reduction in the next education budget. Some even went as far as to suggest that in the light of the present crisis in the country's finance it is economic madness to continue with the present benevolent government support to our students. They also called for the introduction of university fees.

I do not agree with such ideas as I believe that education is the only salvation for our country.

The government should not resort to drastic cuts in the education budget. On the contrary, it should invest more in education and should in no way discourage students from furthering their education. Student numbers will drastically fall if fees are introduced or if the government makes it hard for students to obtain their degrees. This is the last thing we want to see happening in our country.

The future of our manufacturing and services industries and, indeed, economic growth is tied to education. Education and a skilled labour force are key factors in determining foreign direct investment. It has never been more so than at this moment in time.

This government has failed to react to the repercussions of the fall of the Iron Curtain and to globalisation. It should have been able to foresee that such events would direct a major flow of European and American investment to Eastern Europe and the Far East because of their lower costs of production.

These events made it more difficult for our country to attract foreign investment. The last years have been marked by the sheer dearth of such investment reaching our shores. We are no longer competitive in industry, where machine operators carry out elementary operations. We had to move to the production of highly technical products with a higher value added content.

But in order to be able to do so we need to ensure a continuous output of highly skilled technicians and professionals by our educational institutions and the university. There has to be a constant supply on the labour market of skilled workers and professionals as required by modern technological industries. This is certainly not the case in the present situation. Indeed, technical education has been left to die by the wayside and the university is not providing enough professionals as required by modern industry.

We have been very late in updating ourselves to the new circumstances that have arisen on the global stage. There is a great shortage of skills and professional people. Compared to other EU countries our student population is indeed low.

What may happen is that if the students presently coming out of the university do not find jobs they will seek employment in other EU countries. That would make the shortage of professionals even worse. A brain drain will be very damaging to our economy and if this happens we can forget foreign investment.

What is likely to happen is that the government will take a short-sighted view of the situation and because of the deficit will cut the education budget. The easiest way out is to reduce benefits and introduce fees. But there are other ways which could be exploited in our national interest. Malta has the advantage of an English-speaking university with a highly qualified academic staff and, if properly marketed, this could be a magnet to attract students from EU and other countries.

If properly managed, our university could prove to be a gold mine. The substantial fees which the university can earn from foreign students will be used to finance the education of Maltese students. As matters stand now the university, which is so short of funds, has to give students it admits from the EU a free education.

It cannot discriminate between Maltese and EU students. But Maltese students can be funded by scholarships given by local councils. EU students will therefore have to pay as they do in their countries. However, our university can still give them a high standard of tertiary education at very competitive fees.

So before axing the education budget to the detriment of our national interests, the government should explore other ways and means as to how to fund our student population which is so vital to propel Malta up the value-added chain.