Members of the public are going to be quizzed on literacy in a bid to improve worryingly-low reading and writing levels among Maltese students, a seminar discussed yesterday.
Statistics from 2009 show that the ratio of low achievers in reading among 15-year-olds is 36 per cent, considerably higher than the EU average. According to the EU High Level Group of Experts on Literacy report published in September, one in five European 15-year-olds have poor reading and writing skills.
A quarter of 15-year-old Europ-eans claim reading is a waste of time, while 34 per cent admitted they did not read for pleasure.
Organised jointly by the Directorate for Quality and Standards Education (DQSE) and the Malta Union of Teachers, yesterday’s seminar focused on determining effect-ive and efficient ways of improving literacy attainment and decreasing the percentage of low achievers.
According to DQSE Literacy Education officer Christine Firman, cooperative approaches are the way forward.
“Businesses, celebrities, NGOs, youth workers and the media can all contribute in an influential way in raising literacy levels,” she said.
“We need to create a culture of reading, to expose our children to the joy of reading.”
Dr Firman proceeded to outline the report’s recommendations, tentatively suggesting them as possible solutions.
According to the report, schools should allow adequate time for reading activities.
Dr Firman referred to the Portuguese National Plan which had introduced one compulsory hour of reading per day in early childhood and one hour of in-class reading per week in lower secondary.
To close the gaps between those who have good literacy skills and those who struggle, greater emphasis must be placed on inclusion and fair access: participation coupled with quality and bolstered by specialised support for everyone who needs it.
“I believe that teachers should also have excellent in-depth knowledge of reading and of literacy.”
Particular focus was also placed on adults ’ literacy, with the report advocating the need to support illiterate adults in overcoming their shame and encouraging them to ask for help.
Education Minister Dolores Cristina said education also takes place in the workplace, organis-ations and most importantly, within the family.
This is the reason why the Foundation for Educational Services has been organising a number of programmes to guide adults in helping their children, she said.
These include storytelling sessions in public libraries and family writing activities. Over 10,000 families have been reached through these programmes.
During the past three years, the Government invested €100,000 a year in new books for libraries, Ms Cristina said.
Curriculum Management and eLearning Department director Sandro Spiteri reviewed the literacy strategy in state primary schools, noting there had been inefficient coordination among in-school providers, with external services, third-party providers and parents.
The seminar unveiled a plan for a public consultation exercise to garner feedback from schools, parents and the public to review Malta’s literacy strategy in light of the recommendations of the report by the High Level Group.
A report focusing specifically on Maltese and English literacy levels among Maltese studentsis expected to be published within a short while.