The good results obtained by students sitting for the Junior Lyceum examinations are a clear indication of the progress achieved in the education sector over the past years.

It was the best result ever, with 60.4 per cent of the 4,302 students obtaining a pass mark in all five subjects on which they were tested. In the past, the number of students who were successful hovered roughly on the 50 per cent mark, with previous peaks of 54 per cent reached in 2001 and 2004.

First of all, it is hoped that this will not be a one-off success and that the momentum keeps going in the years to come. What is sure however is that this is a good sign that our educational system is on the right path.

No doubt, the recent changes that have been made in the education sector have helped in no small way towards this achievement. The national minimum curriculum, which was introduced five years ago, was a new lease of life to the system as it brought in a new way of thinking and fresh attitudes.

There was also a marked advancement in ICT and the upgrading of the general environment and facilities in schools. Schools have also become more autonomous, and this has helped them draw up their own particular plan that suits their exigencies and, as a result, they improved their output.

One must also mention the setting up of the Foundation for Educational Services which, through the introduction of new methodologies, has been another asset. It is also evident that the literacy tests that were carried out on schoolchildren, and were repeated on the same children three years later, have also contributed towards this positive result.

Good results in education cannot be seen overnight. But if one sows well, then fruit will inevitably be reaped.

It was therefore also positive for Education Minister Louis Galea to share the credit of these Junior Lyceum results with his predecessor, former Labour Education Minister Evarist Bartolo. Dr Galea said that in his two years as Education Minister between 1996 and 1998, Mr Bartolo had worked hard to strengthen the education system with new programmes and new ideas in the literacy sector and in primary schools.

It has often been said that education should not be a subject that should be tackled on partisan lines. Education is too important to be used as a political football, and therefore there needs to be a concerted effort, from all sides of the political spectrum, to see that this sector moves forward.

As it is, education is also a subject that is never completed. One can never say that “we have arrived” and stop there. There is always something else to do because times change and systems need to be continuously updated.

What has been achieved at the Junior Lyceum examinations should serve as a platform on which to continue building our education system, making it better than it is.

It is known that the government has undertaken several other initiatives to push our education system further up. Reports have been commissioned from several working groups on a restructuring programme that involves the whole set-up of the so-called years of learning – from pre-kindergarten to the University. These reports should form the basis of a reform that needs to be carried out to make the education system more flexible, more dynamic and more modern.

In his statement following the results of the Junior Lyceum examination, Dr Galea said that the changes that have been made over the past years have already yielded positive results.

They should become even better if the reforms that are being planned are implemented.

This should be done with the least possible hitches as, after all, as explained earlier, everyone will benefit from a better education system.