Progress by Malta in reaching EU educational targets for 2020 is slow, according to a report issued in Brussels yesterday.
Although Malta set itself lower end-of-decade targets than the European average, progress is limited and the country is risking missing its thresholds.
With an early school leaving rate of 36.9 per cent, Malta had the highest number of early school leavers in the EU in 2010, even though it managed to cut the rate by two percentage points from 2005. The EU average stood at 14.1 per cent.
Similarly, while the EU is aiming to reduce its early school leavers to under 10 per cent by the end of 2020 and Malta’s target is set at 29 per cent, even here, the island still has a very long way to go.
The report shows that the same applies for another significant education target – reducing the number of 30-34-year-olds who have no tertiary education.
By the end of 2010, Malta only managed 21.5 per cent in this area against 33.6 per cent in the EU. This despite the country registering an increase of three per cent since 2005 in this area.
The EU is targeting the 40 per cent mark by 2020 while Malta is targeting 33 per cent.
The EU is disappointed with the general trends in this sector across the bloc and warned that targets would not be reached if member states did not make extra effort.
Malta had been allowed to aim for lower targets than the EU average because, in this field, it started from a more challenging place when compared to most EU member states.
According to the report, EU member states are also making slow progress to reduce school dropout rates below 10 per cent although there are considerable differences between member states.
Malta (36.9 per cent), Portugal (28.7 per cent) and Spain (28.4 per cent) have the highest number of school dropouts. The best performers continue to be Slovakia (4.7 per cent), the Czech Republic (4.9 per cent) and Slovenia (5 per cent).
“If current trends continue, the 2020 target will not be met,” the report warned. It shows that achieving the EU’s tertiary attainment target cannot be taken for granted.
Seven member states score below 25 per cent (Romania, Malta, Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Portugal). The best performers are Ireland (49.9 per cent), Denmark (47 per cent) and Luxembourg (46.1 per cent).