Is illiteracy a social injustice?

I read with great interest the contribution made by Bishop Nikol Cauchi (18 February 18). He wrote about illiteracy and touched upon the problems this is causing. Without politicising this subject, I must say that the Malta Labour Party has, for many years now, put this issue on the national agenda, not only with the intention to stimulate a discussion but more so to find a solution.

We hear a lot about competitiveness and economic growth. However this is not possible if after so many years of compulsory education students, year after year, do not obtain the necessary skills for this day and age. The acquisition of such skills has a two-fold implication; for the individual and for the country. Therefore one of the setbacks for our economic advancement is surely the problem we are encountering in the education sector.

We must not forget that illiteracy or the lack of skills is first and foremost a problem for the individual but also for his family. So when we say there are over 8,100 people seeking a job, one must also consider their beloved ones. When we analyse the level of education most of the jobless have, we find that about 75 per cent are looking for elementary jobs, thus implying the lack of educational skills.

Therefore, even if we were inundated with investment, which at present is not the case, it would be difficult to find people with the necessary qualifications to be employed. This situation implies that our education system is "producing" unemployable persons. Moreover, the fact that part of the training budget of the Employment and Training Corporation is dedicated to basic skills courses, skills that after 10 years or so of schooling should have been acquired, is another sign that our education system is failing, notwithstanding the goodwill of many educators.

Our educational system needs to address this situation. Moreover our country, especially the government, needs to make the necessary changes not to continue on the same route. I think it is only fair to say that the vast majority of the teachers are doing their utmost in the circumstances to educate the students they are responsible for.

I would like to mention one example where changes are a must. Without going into the debate over whether we need the Junior Lyceum exam or not, the situation is that some students are successful and others join the general secondary schools. Unfortunately, the system does not give special attention to the latter and this is shown in the results such students are getting.

Allow me to focus on some of the results students in area secondary schools obtain. First and foremost one must point out that year after year almost 40 per cent of the students either do not pass any exam at SEC level or do not sit for an exam at all.

If we take the 2004 SEC examination session, we find that 37.7 per cent of children born in 1988, that is the cohort that reached the age of 16, obtained the necessary passes to have access to the sixth form. It is not my intention to shed any bad light but it is my intention to encourage change in the right direction so that students can benefit in the future.

In the May 2004 SEC exams in English language, Maltese and mathematics the performance of those attending area secondary schools was as follows: 756 sat for English language papers IIA and IIB - 77 students obtained a grade from 1-5; 767 students sat for the Maltese exam, again for papers IIA and IIB - 148 students obtained a grade from 1-5 and 669 sat for the mathematics exam for papers IIA and IIB - 58 students obtained a grade from 1-5.

Most of the students who sat for these exams had a preference for paper IIB which, as we know, is less difficult.

These students deserve to have a fair chance as well. By fair I mean their needs must be catered for so that in the end they can also be successful after more than 10 years of schooling.

Another principle that must guide us is that they also deserve to be treated equally. Although one must not forget or minimise social problems, we must do our utmost to provide students attending the area secondary schools with the same opportunities according to their abilities, which surely they do possess. If this is not done it will be a social injustice.

Mr Abela MP is the Labour Party's main spokesman for education, youth and culture.