While we indulge in hubris at the country’s economic success and leadership in promoting minority rights, there are not-so-openly discussed statistics that may show that the future of our society is not as promising as it should be. I am referring to both local and international statistics about our younger and older generations.
The EU Social Justice Index Report for 2017 came up with some worrying news about the preparedness of our young people to join the workforce in this latter part of the second decade of the 21st century. While thousands continue to excel in their educational achievement, many others are being left behind. They often end up depending on political patronage to establish themselves in life – a southern Mediterranean reality that wants to perpetuate the culture of dependence.
The first worrying statistic of the Social Justice Index places Malta in the last place in the league of students who are early school-leavers. Almost 20 per cent of our students are leaving our free educational system without the necessary skills for finding decent employment and earn a living wage. Most end up working in the black economy or being underemployed in some government agency.
So many of our youngsters are unprepared for the challenges of today’s workplace. Equally depressing, thousands of older people are left to rot on the human scrap heap
Many of our leaders do not seem to worry as they can always liberalise our work permits policy to get more foreigners in a booming market for skilled people or low qualified people who have no access to public service jobs.
An equally worrying statistic by the same Social Justice Index is that 54.8 per cent of our people have less than upper secondary education qualifications. This negative record comes after decades of free education from kindergarten to University and an above average public expenditure on our educational system. No wonder Malta ranked below the EU average when elements of social justice were combined.
These sobering statistics are not just reflections of our educational system. They are about how sections of our community are rapidly falling behind as they find it harder to put food on the table or a roof over their families’ heads. Many will blame the welfare state for providing free education for all but fails to promote achievement.
Others blame the culture of dependence that various administrations have consciously or unconsciously encouraged by fostering political patronage. Others more realistically argue that we have made money and economic achievement the sacred cow of public and private administration.
The plight of many older people is not getting any better despite the economic affluence that the country is enjoying. I am not just referring to the pension’s question that is still unresolved despite some praiseworthy attempts to nibble at the problem. I am relating to the care of the elderly in our ageing society where many are living longer but with many more years of morbidity.
Age UK is a charity that promotes the well-being of older adults. It publishes excellent research reports from time to time that reflect the plight of older people. I believe that their findings are very relevant to most western European countries, including Malta, where societies are evolving in similar ways.
Almost one million UK pensioners over the age of 65 complain that their lives ‘rarely or never have any meaning’. One pensioner commented: “Once you pass a certain age, you’re written off. People don’t employ you. The sooner you die, the less of a burden you are.”
No wonder that 22 per cent of men and 28 per cent of women in the 65-plus bracket suffer from depression. Older people are becoming a significant minority that politicians do not care much about their plight.
Perhaps the next generation of politicians will shift attention to this cohort after the present generation was more concerned about other much smaller minorities.
Caroline Abrahams of AGE UK argues: “We all need to realise that the ageism that is all too frequent in our society does real harm to some older people and makes them miserable and even unwell. It is still seen as socially acceptable by some to stereotype and denigrate older people in ways that would be unacceptable if the same behaviour occurred in the context of gender and race.”
The era of extended families made many generations resilient when mired in economic and social problems. That era is now practically over.
Sadly, so many of our youngsters are unprepared for the challenges of today’s workplace. Equally depressing, thousands of older people are left to rot on the human scrap heap.
johncassarwhite@yahoo.com