In a few days' time Malta, along with many nations in the civilised world, will be remembering Armistice Day.

When newsreaders on Sky News started wearing their poppy I decided to ask randomly some 18-to 22-year olds, friends of my children, what they knew of Armistice Day. Most of them were expensively educated in private schools, some studying for the A levels, some already at university. To my shock and dismay only one of the 15 young people I spoke to knew what Armistice Day was all about.

I decided to take my survey a little further and asked them what they knew about some famous historical figures and about some current events and these were typical answers I received:

Winston Churchill - Some dude who did something brave during the war.

Napoleon - A one-armed man who was always riding a horse.

Abraham Lincoln - No one had the slightest idea.

Nelson Mandela - Some important black guy.

Why is there a war going on in Afghanistan - Because the Americans hate the Arabs and want to steal their oil.

These answers were not given in jest. Most of these students honestly did not have a clue, some a very vague idea.

My friend the artist Luciano Micallef, who many years ago had the unenviable task of teaching History of Art at the Crafts School at Tarġa Gap, once related an episode to me that had taken place in his class way back in the early 1980s. When asked who Socrates was most of the class came back with the answer that he was the Brazilian football team captain. Which in a way was right, but not quite the answer that Luciano, totally ignorant of all matters football, was expecting.

At first glance all this may seem funny but upon reflection it is nothing but an indictment of our educational system. Our education authorities will be heartened to learn that 11 out of 15 of my little survey group all knew what a fug-ass was.

On reflection I should not have been surprised. I know university graduates, one of whom is a teacher, who cannot string a few words of written English to save his life. Their answers to the questions I asked my survey group would have been very similar. I know doctors and engineers who don't know who Mandela is.

It is all well and good to pump millions of euros into building and renovating schools. It is just as laudable to improve the working conditions of teachers. But those at the very top who set national curricula should have a good look at themselves as, in my opinion, they have a lot to answer for.

I would much rather have my children having a knowledge of history and current affairs to view the world around them with an open mind and an informed opinion rather than spout out from memory obscure Maltese poetry, the meaning of which they do not understand. Or to know the meaning of Armistice Day rather than what is a fug-ass.