I refer the article entitled ‘Applied Maltese would feel inequalities among students’ (March 31).

The Ministry of Education and Employment wholly rejects the notion that vocational education is somewhat not equal to or inferior to other forms of education. Such reasoning shows scant knowledge of democratic pedagogy, the Malta Qualification Framework and the MQF level descriptors. Not only it is not inferior but the best learning experiences must have practical-based education as part of their programmes.

An MQF level 3 qualification in the Maltese language for vocational students has been around for a number of years at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology and has allowed thousands of Maltese students to progress to further and higher education or to find employment. These students are not inferior to anyone but have opted to follow a different route.

The article also states that “While [Evarist] Bartolo excluded that Maltese as a foreign language would be offered to Maltese students, he left the door open for those with a foreign parent”. This again is factually incorrect and has been refuted a number of times. Maltese students, including those with a foreign parent, will not be allowed to follow Maltese as a foreign language programme.

Learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together are considered the four learning pillars by Unesco (even referred to recently by Pope Francis) and the Council of Europe report has listed the vocational approach as the first priority.

“Recommendation 1. Develop a more varied curriculum, building on the proposals of the NCF and NLS and the ‘alternative curriculum’. This should include a valid vocational route with languages for employment and may usefully include input from employers, employees and other stakeholders. It should also allow for a variety of appropriate communicative teaching/learning approaches for languages (including third and fourth languages). This could provide the basis for offering language courses to non-specialists in further and higher education (ITS, Mcast and the University)” (page 63).

Pope Francis said education should teach three basic languages: those of the head, the heart and the hands. The language of the head, he said, means thinking well and learning concrete things. That of the heart means understanding feelings and sentiments. The language of the hands is making use of the gifts God has given us to create new things. The key, he said, is to use all three together.

Pope Francis went on to criticise what he called the “isolating nature” of today’s digital, virtual world. Rather than demonise technology, the Pope called it a richness that must be used well with a “concreteness that brings freedom”.