The state of education

I have been mulling about whether to pen this letter or a few years but the article that appeared on May 6 regarding the education system persuaded me to take the plunge.

My opinion has not been formed through academic research and is not founded on some sophisticated data gathering system. It is a layman’s conclusion after years of working with young waterpolo players.

Our education system does not educate children and young adults. Our schools are factories where children are trained to pass exams at the expense of real learning. Carmel Borg’s observations, based on his undoubted academic expertise, match my layman’s conclusions. Our schools produce students who achieve an A grade in geography but who do not know what is the capital city of Lithuania, a fellow EU member state.

Likewise we have Matsec grade A students in history who have no idea of the effects of the French revolution on modern history, or in some cases that it ever even took place. Simply because it does not form part of their curriculum.

As for the study of languages, the less said the better. I have often come across youngsters who have an A in Italian O Level but cannot string a sentence together. The same applies to students of French and German.

Through my involvement in waterpolo I have met many foreign youngsters of a similar age as “my” own boys. Foreign youngsters tend to be much more rounded culturally and socially. They are not intrinsically more intelligent than their Maltese counterparts but it is obvious that they are more aware of the world around them, of the beauty of art and literature, and that they have been schooled in a way in which they are not burdened by exams at the tender age of 11.

When Systems of Knowledge was introduced as a compulsory subject years ago I applauded and fully endorsed its raison d’etre. I mistakenly thought that even at a rather late stage, at 17, our children would be exposed to culture, art, philosophy and other social sciences. Alas this subject, that should be nothing more than an eye opener to students who went down the same way as the others and quickly became just another exam to pass before gaining entry to university.

The greatest indictment of our education system is the fixation with private lessons, a practice that is practically unheard of outside our shores.

The authorities should take a step back and have a careful look to see what the millions spent on our children’s education are producing. I am not holding my breath though. The decision makers are the products of a system that needs an overhaul and it is unlikely that the status quo, which has produced an industry worth millions of tax free euros in private lessons, is likely to ever be changed in my lifetime.