It was becoming apparent that Malta needed a new, comprehensive, Education Act, Labour MP Evarist Bartolo told Parliament on Wednesday.

It made more sense to have a new updated law than to keep amending the old one, with the risk of some sections contradicting others, as could be the case in the Bill currently before the House he said.

Mr Bartolo was speaking during the second day of debate on a Bill which will replace the Education Department by two directorates focused on the regulatory role and the running of state schools. The Bill also creates the framework for the reorganisation of state schools into colleges. It establishes the Teaching Council, formally creates the National Commission for Higher Education and incorporates Mcast into the Education Act.

Mr Bartolo said that while efficient administration was important, the bottom line was what happened in the classroom. In Finland, which had one of the best education system, the education minister cited "teachers, teachers, teachers" as the reason for success.

Malta, Mr Bartolo said, needed to increasingly focus on the lower echelons of education, because it was there that the foundation stones were laid.

Indeed, one should aim at having an all-graduate teaching workforce, including the kindergarten level. Given the importance of the early years, it was there that the best teachers were needed.

Mr Bartolo underscored the need for language and science awareness for children in primary schools. Malta had been one of the most advanced countries in the area of languages, he said, but he feared it was now falling behind.

It was just as also important that children were exposed to science and technology and attention also had to be given to the development of creativity.

At secondary level, countries, which like Malta, had closed down trade schools were reintroducing vocational subjects, especially for those students who could only learn by doing. Unfortunately, schools in Malta only provided one method of learning.

Mr Bartolo spoke in favour of easing students' transition from primary schools to secondary schools, removing the tension and trauma of the Junior Lyceum entrance exam.

Malta's system, he said, was excessively exam-driven and new ways needed to be found how students were assessed.

It was also important, however, that any changes in assessments and in teaching methods were accompanied by the provision of modern school books. Some of them were simply out of date.

Turning to the post-secondary and tertiary sectors, Mr Bartolo said it made no sense that the University did not recognise Mcast qualifications, while universities in the UK did. Clearly, closer coordination was needed in this area and this was one of the challenges of the Commission for Higher Education.

Mr Bartolo welcomed the fact that the role of one of the new directorates would be to monitor quality and standards in education. He stressed, however, that comparisons needed to be made with schools abroad. There should be coordination with similar bodies abroad so that education systems were assessed using the same yardstick.

And when it came to auditing, even the ministry and administrators should be audited.

Mr Bartolo expressed doubts about the proposed Permanent Committee for Education, arguing that it should have wider representation without becoming unmanageable. For one of the problems in the education system, he said, was that there was very little cross-fertilisation.

Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo regretted that the opposition seemed to be against this Bill when, he said, he had no doubt that its provisions would lead to a brighter future for children.

Rather than the earthquake which opposition spokesman Carmelo Abela had said this Bill would produce, one would see a continuation of a process of change for the better.

It was a process of change which was already giving results, as evidenced by the drop in illiteracy and the growing number of students in post-secondary courses.

How could the opposition argue that the government was proceeding too quickly on this Bill when it was preceded by a widely discussed White Paper?

Mr Vassallo said an area where the education authorities were increasingly focusing on was entrepreneurship. While this subject was featuring in the higher levels of education, it was gradually also filtering down to the primary level.

Concluding Mr Vassallo also referred to the composition of the various structures set up under this Bill. Mr Abela had gone so far as to label the Teaching Council as the minister's council he said.

It was important to realise, however, that it was ministers who were ultimately responsible for what took place in their area of responsibility. They were the ones who had to reply to parliamentary questions. They were the ones who were asked to resign when things went wrong. Responsibility and authority were therefore part and parcel. A minister who could not take decision could not be held responsible.