In a few days time thousands of students will be heading back to school, university, Mcast or some other educational institution. Parents will most probably be happy that their children are once again slotting in the routine of ‘normal’ life. The students themselves may be less enthusiastic about returning to their classes after months of taking life easy. Educators may be having a fit of the blues as they wonder whether this year’s crop of students will achieve more than those that came before them.

I am often disappointed by the lack of socio-educational research carried out locally that could give an indication of where we need to concentrate to improve the achievement levels of our students. So I frequently glean the inter­national media to get to know the trends that are developing in the education systems of other countries and see whether, in the absence of proper local research, there are lessons to be learned from what is happening elsewhere.

One interesting survey was carried out by the Prince’s Trust in the UK. This survey confirms that last year “two-fifths of GCSE pupils in England failed to achieve five passes including English and Maths at Grade C and above”. Students interviewed in this survey claimed that they “have abandoned their ambitions because of poor grades”. Martina Milburn, the CEO of the trust said: “young people are buckling under the extreme pressure of the tough job market”.

Many of these young people are likely to become NEETs (Not in Education, Employment and Training). Since the beginning of the longest global recession in modern history “those who have struggled at school fear they will end up on the dole, unable to compete in a flooded labour market”.

In this context, the efforts being made locally to rescue these students from the human scrap heap are indeed laudable. It is now more important than ever to invest in vocational support and training for young people who are not academically successful.

The newly introduced scheme that will grade courses according to prospects of employability they offer to students is an important milestone in our struggle to make our educational system more effective. So government, employers and educators must work together to get more underqualified young people into jobs.

Another interesting survey was commissioned by HSBC in the UK. According to this survey “university students are shunning arts and humanities courses in favour of more practical subjects which they believe will improve their job prospects”.

It is now more important than ever to invest in vocational support and training for young people who are not academically successful

The survey also found that “parents rank vocational courses and the sciences most highly for graduate employment prospects”. In the UK applications for vocational degree courses, which include subjects like engineering, nursing and medicine, rose by 26 per cent between 2007 and 2012’.

I doubt whether this trend is developing in Malta.

Our university continues to churn out hundreds of lawyers and graduates in ‘soft’ degrees who then struggle to find the kind of employment they dreamed of when they were students.

One possible explanation for the lack of attractiveness of tough vocational courses is the stipends system that may not be motivating more students to go for the tough courses in engineering sciences, information and communications technology and mathematics by offering better financial rewards to those who opt for these courses.

Students in the UK who have to pay for their tertiary education have to make tough cost-benefit analyses of the different course options that are available to them because cost matters.

Another interesting survey was that carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research. This survey found that “around half of young Britons who are out of work and not studying full-time have never even had a job”. It is so easy to be caught in the vicious circle of not having work experience because of low educational qualifications, and yet few employers are willing to employ young people who have no experience of work at all.

It is important for young people to learn work ethics and basic social skills that are indispensable for their employability. A report by the British Chamber of Commerce reveals how many employers are “disheartened, if not downright frustrated, by school leavers”.

John Longworth, an official of the BCC, says “the education system is letting down young people. Employers are often disheartened if not downright frustrated to find school leavers and graduates do not have the minimum skills they need to join the workforce”.

No wonder some educators currently have a fit of the blues.

johncassarwhite@yahoo.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.