University rector Juanito Camilleri is working on bringing together an action group that will work in the community to encourage students, who may not have the necessary support at home, to pursue further studies.

Although the idea is still in its infancy, Prof. Camilleri last week held a first meeting with a group of about six volunteers interested in taking part in this project.

A group of academics have also expressed interest in researching what is leading to the recurrent situation where students from certain parts of Malta – particularly the port area – have an alarmingly low presence at university, Prof. Camilleri told The Times.

The rector first raised the issue during his Victory Day speech last month when he said it was unacceptable that students from certain areas did not further their education, pointing out that 3,000 graduates every year from the whole of Malta were not enough.

Several academics agreed with him and said an aggressive and comprehensive campaign was needed. One of them, Prof. Kenneth Wain, called for a commission to be set up by all stakeholders, including the political parties and local councils.

“I don’t think these are things for commissions although it depends what the brief of the commission is. It’s a question of having people willing to dedicate time... This situation won’t be resolved with big policies, big words, big commissions,” Prof. Camilleri said, adding that what was needed was hands-on action by people working directly within the community.

Prof. Camilleri said he had not mentioned the issue frivolously when he delivered his speech on September 8 but wanted to start some form of action.

After his speech several people contacted him saying they wanted to help and he has held a meeting with some of them with the aim of setting up some form of action group to start tackling the problem.

“I only spoke [about the meeting] because you [The Times] asked and it was not my intention to publicise or dramatise this. The aim is to work quietly... I am willing to dedicate some of my time, and hope that others are willing to dedicate some of theirs,” he said, adding that he held the issue at heart.

The plan is to have a number of people working in these communities who would identify promising students who do not have enough support and encourage them to pursue their studies with the blessing of the parents. There would be an element of role models and mentoring for children from a young age.

“It doesn’t have to be big. Every single child we stimulate in this way, who would have otherwise not made it to university, is a great achievement,” he said.

As part of the process it was important to understand why children in some localities were not moving on to further their studies, he added.

He believes this is due to a variety of demographic, economic and social issues that did not, however, hinge on “poverty.”

Research showed that children whose parents graduated had a greater chance of becoming graduates. However, there were cases of uneducated parents who recognised the importance of education and there were cases of well-off families who did not encourage their children to study as their family business was good enough, he said.