Education for life: This is indeed the essence of our educational policy. For what is the point of learning everything by rote as we used to do when we were at school only to forget it once we leave? Education for life and in a meaningful way is what this government has been working towards.

Malta boasts one of the highest standards of education in the world with one of the best educational set ups accessible to everyone. Free education that is available to all has been the cornerstone of our educational system for decades. This has remained so with one difference. What used to stand in the past may no longer be acceptable. In other words, what worked 50 years ago or 20 years ago, no longer works today.

Our economic structure has changed as has our society; so has our educational set up. Our children are being given better and more effective tools to be able to be flexible at the workplace and to be more adaptable to and within society. A job for life is a concept of the past and, therefore, educational methods aimed in that direction have been confined to the history books.

While retaining what was still valid we have overhauled our approach to learning languages, maths and science. Today, our students count in lines rather than in sums.

Mental mathematics is the new way of approaching the subject. Maths for life rather than to pass an exam.

The same can be said for science with experiments being held in the classroom.

The educational system is now looking at empowering our children to be participants in their education rather than recipients. Their textbooks are coming to life in the classroom and focusing on learning for life. E-learning is no longer a buzzword. It is no longer something to hear about. E-learning is actually being practised.

To support this philosophy, this Administration has invested heavily in the sector. This investment is real and can be seen with one new school being built every year and others undergoing extensive renovations. This is what is visible to the naked eye. The curriculum is also unrecognisable when compared to our times. Try sitting with your son/daughter and understand their homework and you will find them teaching you rather than the other way round.

Naturally, our reforms and ideas have not stopped at secondary school. On the contrary, this government has always been a firm believer in tertiary education for all.

Gone are the days of the point system! Long gone are the days of the numerus clausus! Today, the University is accessible to everyone and for those that do not wish to go to the University there are other options. The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology proudly trains over 5,000 students full-time and 2,600 part-time. Logging onto their website blows you away - the range of courses on offer are fantastic. They even have a branch in Gozo as has the Institute of Tourism Studies, which feeds graduates and professionals into the tourism sector, one of the pillars of our economy.

Hundreds of students are following post-graduate studies, leading to Masters and doctorates, through the two scholarship schemes launched a couple of years ago. These provide new opportunities, as do the arts scholarships, which allow talented and creative people to nurture and develop natural skills both locally and also in prestigious colleges and universities abroad.

But education is not for the young only. University lectures today are open to the public who may be interested in the subject. Today, my father or grandmother can sit through a course of Maltese history or sociolinguistics with our University students simply out of interest. Think of what this can give to the older generations of our society?

We are delivering on our promises: free high-quality education for all, both the young and the old. This is a country of opportunities and we are a government that does not leave anyone behind, shut anyone out. On the contrary, our doors are wide open. We believe in education as the key to our nation's success. Education which, on leaving school, is not lost but only reinforced. Education for life.

Dr Portelli is president of the Nationalist Party's executive committee.

martheseportelli.consult@gmail.com

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