The education system is in crisis and needs to be made more relevant to contemporary society, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said this morning.
Addressing a consultation with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development for a new 10-year strategic plan on education reform, Mr Bartolo said the situation was “worrying”.
“The first step is admitting there is a problem. If one studies the results of our performance it becomes clear that we are facing an education crisis. We cannot bury our heads in the sand,” he said, adding that he hoped the strategy would help address the issue.
The 10- year plan will be launched next May and is aimed at combating the island’s abysmal ranking in a number of international educational performance indicators.
Earlier this year the Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) ranked Malta 40th out of 50 countries in science skills and 28th in mathematics skills. Another study – the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) – ranked the island 35th out of 45 countries in literacy and reading skills. Both studies are carried out among primary school children.
Mr Bartolo said some students had performed so poorly that new rankings had to be introduced to measure the country’s performance. Half of fifth former students do not sit for or pass matriculation exams, he said.
“This is urgent. We need to look in the mirror and understand what is going on. This plan is a big step in that direction,” he said
More than 1000 out of the 5,800 youths aged 15 to 24 had been registering for work for more than a year, he said.
The situation is made worse when graduates are thrown into the mix. Mr Bartolo said the problem of graduates being over qualified for the job market had led to a growing unemployment problem.
We want to ask the University [of Malta], the colleges and other institutions, what they are doing wrong and why these students’ courses are not matching the country’s realities,” he said.
The Framework for the Education Strategy for Malta: 2014-2024 can be downloaded from www.education.gov.mt/strategy and feedback could be sent by email on education.strategy@gov.mt