The Minister of Education, Evarist Bartolo, was recently quoted saying that we need to review the way teaching takes place in the classroom, that is the way students learn.

I believe that as a country we spend a great amount of resources to enhance the physical infrastructure in education, to set up a more streamlined organisation structure that takes account of both the regulatory role and the operational role of the Ministry of Education, and to upgrade the syllabi. However, more needs to be done on the way learning takes place.

This week’s contribution is not about education policy. It is about the link between education and the economy. In the same speech, Bartolo also made the point that there needs to be a stronger link between education and the economy.

Although my background is in economics, I am a strong believer that education should not be preparing the person for the world of work but for adult life as a responsible citizen, of which the world of work is just one facet. Moreover, it also needs to be appreciated that the elements of the so-called managerial intelligence and emotional intelligence (as opposed to intellectual intelligence) are required in all aspects of our adult life and not only in the dimension as producers and consumers.

I would dare say that nowadays it is the school environment that comes closest to the work environment

I would like to place this within the context of Malta’s competitiveness. Although international reports (prepared by learned people) refer to a country’s competitiveness, we need to appreciate as well that a country’s competitiveness is highly dependent on the competitiveness of businesses operating in that country. For example, one can speak of having a well-developed ICT infrastructure, which is judged to enhance a country’s infrastructure, but this does not necessarily make a specific company competitive.

Over the years, Malta has made great strides in various sectors, which have all contributed to attracting foreign investment. So one may ask what threats does Malta need to address to maintain this performance?

There are many threats and each person would tend to prioritise them according to one’s perspective. I believe that one of the major threats we have is our human resources. This does not mean that we do not have or we will not have the human resources with the appropriate intellectual intelligence. However, will we have the human resources with the appropriate managerial and emotional intelligence?

This takes me back to the point I started off with. We may need to review the way learning takes place in the classroom and outside it.

Previously there was a strong element of commonality among the environment in the family, in the school, in the community where one lived and, eventually, in the world of work. This commonality has been lost, especially in relation to the family and to the community where one lives. I would dare say that nowadays it is the school environment that comes closest to the work environment. This makes it even more necessary to create this link between education and the world of work – not so much at a vocational/technical skills level but at a behavioural level.

We cannot address this issue using a short-term approach. The view that we will have to take is a long-term one. It is important that the subject matter that is taught in schools and other educational institutions from primary level to secondary level is updated in line with today’s and possibly tomorrow’s requirements. However, this is not enough. The way students learn will have to be determined on the behavioural aspects that the world of work will demand from such students.