The government launched an entrepreneurship programme yesterday that will be introduced in primary schools to develop an entrepreneurial culture among students.
The programme was designed by the Education Ministry and the Communi-cations and Competitiveness Ministry, in collaboration with Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Malta.
Launching the programme at the National Curriculum Centre in Hamrun yesterday morning, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Businesses and the Self-Employed Edwin Vassallo described the programme as an important achievement in the history of educational development in the country.
He said the programme provided a new way of developing an entrepreneurial mindset in students, who would benefit from such skills even if they did not necessarily choose a career in the commercial or entrepreneurial sector.
“The programme is designed in such a way that students will be encouraged to reflect on commercial activity in their own town or village. Commercial activity has a noble aim – that of providing a service – and it is this line of thought that we want to instil in the mindset of our children,” said Mr Vassallo, adding that such an entrepreneurial culture was necessary for the years to come, as the country experienced a changeover to the second strongest currency in the world.
“We need to work hard to be more innovative and competitive,” he said. “This will require a certain level of risk and a more enthusiastic effort. This is what we want to instil in our children, by introducing this entrepreneurship programme in
primary schools.”
Mr Vassallo added that the programme would help
students understand basic concepts of trade in the most elementary manner.
Permanent secretary in the Education Ministry Frans Borg said that the quality of their education was reflected on children’s lives and it was for this reason that the programme had been designed in such a way that “learning becomes fun”.
Up until now, the programme has been launched as a pilot project for Year 5 students in all of the government’s six colleges. It will be phased in as from next year and will eventually form part of the national
curriculum.