Political studies should be taught in schools to better equip students for voting in elections, students have suggested to Education Minister Evarist Bartolo.

Parliament is debating a draft law to lower the voting age in general elections from 18 to 16.

The suggestion was made during a meeting Mr Bartolo had with form three, four and five students at St Benedict’s College in Kirkop. He was accompanied by Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms, Citizenship and Sim-plification of Administrative Processes Julia Farrugia and Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Youth and Voluntary Organisations Clifton Grima.

To understand the political parties and avoid the sole influence of close relatives

During the informal encounter at the school library, the students voiced their concerns that while they were in favour of being given the right to vote at 16, they were not being exposed to political topics in school. “We do have social studies and personal, social and career development, but these are not enough to equip us with knowledge that would come in handy when voting. I believe that the topic needs to be looked into with more detail,” a form five student said, insisting that any lessons on political issues should be neutral and in no way promote partisan politics.

The instruction would also help students to better understand the different political parties and what they stood for, and thus they would not be influenced solely by close relatives, another student pointed out.

Some students felt the subject could be incorporated in existing ethics lessons.

Others proposed that religion lessons should be held outside school hours and be substituted by political studies.

The minister asked whether political studies exams  should be held, and the students replied that a format that involved debates with teachers would be a better option.

“There could be an environment where students’ ideas are shared in a group setting, allowing them to express themselves while discussing political issues,” one student suggested.