Verdala... All about timing

While Malta's attention was heavily cast on the car registration tax and illegal immigration issues towards the end of last week, few noticed the headline that bore news of the official inauguration of the Verdala Boys Secondary School in Cospicua. The opening of a new school is always positive, yet, in my opinion, this particular opening is even more important because of the environment and the context within which it has been inaugurated.

The location of the school is extremely significant. Here lies a locality, and region, that has found itself on the negative side of news bulletins on the social and economic front for years and which is now equipped with a state-of-the-art secondary school to go along with other heavy investments such as the Cottonera Sports Complex. The school itself is very well-equipped, having excellent laboratories and classrooms, large open spaces and high-quality sports facilities.

It is naturally very positive to see the government putting its money where its mouth is by investing in the region. It is also encouraging to see all political parties agreeing on the need to inculcate confidence and positivity in a district that has been constantly mired by negativity and profound inferiority when the case should be completely different.

Yet, zooming out of the region for a second, the new school must also be viewed within the context of the government's strategic infrastructural investment in education around Malta and Gozo. Over the past year, the government has refurbished 29 schools and opened three new childcare centres. Three new schools are being built in Pembroke, Mosta and Gozo.

The ultimate goal of this investment is that of providing a platform for all children to succeed. The government aims at increasing the complement of students that continue studying in post-compulsory education to 85 per cent and, of particular relevance in this case, that of ensuring that all students leave primary schooling and enter secondary schooling with the basic skills and competences in reading and writing in English and Maltese, knowledge of mathematics and ICT literacy, which is crucial in this day and age.

Launching new schools and the upgrading of existing infrastructure therefore goes hand in hand with the government's policy direction.

The recent launch of the National Policy and Strategy for the Attainment of Core Competences in Primary Education, for example, is exceptionally crucial to this end because, in my opinion, it links the notion of upgraded and high-quality facilities with the government's strategy for the transition from primary to secondary education.

The new strategy is based on the concept of creating checklists for students in the first, second and third grades of primary school so as to guide teachers in their assessment of children's development in core competences. By creating a clear roadmap, teachers can target the progress of students in a much more comprehensive manner. These skills are indispensable in today's competitive and flexible environment.

The strategy on core competences lays down the successful foundation for a smoother transition from primary to secondary schooling. Following the consultation period for the latter, which seems to have come to a close, we now look forward to seeing a revamp of the final three years of primary schooling.

In order to attain a smoother transition from primary to secondary, the student mindset should shift from one that focuses on examinations and memorising reams of notes to one that takes a deep interest in learning within an environment free from excess stress and anxiety. This objective will certainly be achieved once streaming is done away with and once the 11+ examination is replaced with a national benchmarking test to measure educational achievement.

The Verdala Boys Secondary School, in my opinion, carries all these symbolic connotations, not because that is what was intended of it but because of the timing of its inauguration. Its location and the general transition in the educational system should serve as a beacon of hope that children today have a much greater opportunity to succeed.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david@davidcasa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu