In the past few days we have launched new proposals to improve the secondary school experience. Back in 2013, there was a general feeling that something was not right in our education system. The proof was in the pudding – about 20 per cent of our children were being ‘lost’ in the system.
That’s what the numbers were telling us very clearly.
It was also what educators were telling us. They were talking about a system that worked for some, but not for others.
And we’re not referring to just a small portion of our young people. Anywhere up to 50 per cent of our students were not fulfilling their potential in some way or another, due to the rigid and constrained educational experience.
To combat the insularity of the office, I ask a number of colleagues at the ministry to join me in meetings with students every now and then. One of the things that children tell us is that they love their teachers and enjoy the company of their friends in school, but they’d like to have more interesting lessons and do different things.
The monotony, sometimes, is unbearable and I think everyone can relate a little to this.
Children are born creative and curious but it sometimes feels like school is trying to drain that away through standardised testing and rigid programmes.
The message being delivered by teachers, parents and children was a simple one – we’d like to see some changes.
I had the honour of meeting Professor Pasi Sahlberg. Prof. Sahlberg is a Finnish educator, author and scholar who witnessed first-hand and helped to bring about changes that have made the Finnish educational model so successful.
One of the things that children tell us is that they love their teachers and enjoy the company of their friends in school, but they’d like to have more interesting lessons and do different things
Together with colleagues, I met him in Brussels and told him about our desire to improve what we have.
Our visions on how to bring about change in education are very similar – he explained that one cannot simply copy a successful educational model and imitate it somewhere else. The Finnish model works not because it’s some magic formula, but because it fits Finnish society, thinking, resources, social behaviour and structure.
For Maltese educational reform to be successful, the model had to be adapted to Maltese society and the challenges and possibilities of this country.
That was the first step of the journey. Since 2013, we’ve introduced alternative programmes such as the ALP and XL/Achieve through Prince’s Trust International, allowed schools to develop programmes for disengaged students, extended Youth Inc. and others – and we’ve seen how successful they can be.
Children who were labelled as ‘lost’ suddenly found themselves at ease in an educational system that helped them learn things in their own personal way. This has been the common storyline in these programmes for the past three years.
Moreover, over the past two years, we have introduced five vocational subjects in secondary schools at SEC level. These, too, have been very successful and the feedback we have is of engaged students.
These five vocational subjects are a little-known revolution in themselves – the SEC (O-level) assessment is not standardised, it’s actually a personal approach of understanding what the individual has learnt and can produce.
The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology has done wonders, but at 16 it comes too late in the day for a good chunk of students, and they may have already become disillusioned and allergic to education.
I am happy to say that we found full backing from the University of Malta as well.
Many have asked: why wait until 2019 to introduce these changes?
Often, we as politicians and policymakers are attracted to the short game: the quick changes that, we hope, will improve things a bit here and there and deliver results tomorrow.
The short-termism of the electoral cycle should not dictate our education action plan.
Evarist Bartolo is the Minister of Education and Employment.