The Government is planning to come out with an anti-poverty strategy that would help bridge the gap between schools and families, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said yesterday.
Social background is shown to have an effect on academic achievement
He was speaking at the presentation of the results of an international study that again showed Maltese students lagging behind their peers in other countries.
In every study on education, the child’s social background is shown to have an effect on academic achievement, Mr Bartolo said.
Poverty also has an effect on educational opportunities. He said more than a fifth of children and young people were living at the risk of poverty.
The strategy, for which the Government was seeking European funds, would involve other ministries.
The minister was speaking during the presentation of results in the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), in which Malta placed 40th in mathematical literacy, 41st in science literacy and 45th in reading literacy.
Carried out every three years, a total of 64 countries took part in Pisa 2009. An additional 10, including Malta, participated in the PISA 2009+, held in 2010, as the Directorate for Quality and Standards was still being set up in 2009. More than 3,450 15-year-old Maltese students from 53 schools took part.
The study measured functional literacy, where knowledge is applied to real-life situations. Compared to the SEC examinations, the PISA assessments did not have a direct benefit for the students so this might have affected their commitment.
Mr Bartolo said that although Malta fared below average in general, PISA showed that the proportion of Maltese students taking additional lessons outside their normal school hours was high.
At 58 per cent, Malta had the highest proportion of students in the EU and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries who took additional lessons in mathematics.
It also had the highest number of students (43.9 per cent) who took extra lessons in science and the fourth highest number (21 per cent) in English.
On a positive note, the study also found 66 per cent of Maltese students read for enjoyment, while 34 per cent read only if they have to.
These results were more positive than the EU and OECD average and while 18.6 per cent of Maltese students believe reading is a waste of time, the EU average stands at 26 per cent.
Other data about the social, economic and cultural status that emerged from the study shows that the proportion of Maltese parents educated to post-secondary level stands at 55 per cent, compared to the EU average of 79 per cent.