There is something very wrong if an educational system is producing hundreds of young people every year who have so utterly failed in the academic sphere that they believe their prospects of finding employment are zero.
The very least that is expected of schools is to turn out teenagers who don’t just have the basic skills to give them a fighting chance in the job market but who have a modicum of self-belief as well, propelling them to give it a good try. Instead, according to a census carried out by the Employment and Training Corporation, upwards of 3,000 unemployed and out-of-education youths aged between 16 and 24 are so down on themselves that they believe they will never find a job.
These young people have simply lost hope. According to the findings, some feel it’s all down to fate or misfortune. Others feel they have been discriminated against at school. And a large number have such low self-confidence that while they might have tentative plans for their future, they feel they are just not up to it.
The results prompted an extraordinary outburst from Education Minister Evarist Bartolo, who pointed a finger of blame not at these students but at the educational system that has so clearly failed in its mission of preparing them adequately for life after school.
“These youths aren’t dropouts but ‘push-outs’,” he told the audience at an event unveiling the findings of the study. They have been pushed out of a middle-class domain that simply does not cater for those on the fringes of society. The educational system, he said, needs to be rethought.
The census results conform to the figure of 20 per cent that Malta registers in the number of early school-leavers, admittedly a significant improvement over a few years ago but still remains the second highest in the EU. The country has just four years to reach the 10 per cent target set by the EU.
While this is a tall order, a number of initiatives being taken under the EU-funded Youth Guarantee Scheme look hopeful. The scheme is aimed at getting every person under 25 into a job, apprenticeship, training or continued education. Among the programmes introduced in Malta, for example, are free revision classes for those who have done poorly in the core subjects at SEC level. Results in the resits have so far been encouraging.
Another pool of light comes in the form of a new post-secondary institution by the name of Ġużé Ellul Mercer, open to students whose O level achievements lie at a mere one or below. While criticised for being poorly planned, it has the makings of being a shining example of how to get failing students back on track.
Interviewed by this newspaper, a number of the students seemed to have discovered new hope. They spoke of no longer feeling “like a number”, as they did in secondary school; of forming a bond with teachers and feeling cared for; of having a lighter workload consisting of a few core subjects, allowing them to cope better.
This valid initiative brings forth two important lessons.
Mr Bartolo pointed out that the complexity of the problem means there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution. This school shows that tailor-made, targeted interventions need to become part of the educational system of the future.
The second lesson is that teachers count. They can play a major role in nurturing students’ sense of self-worth and lighting the spark that reverses a downward spiral born of self-fulfilling prophecy. For that they need inspiration, motivation, time and training.