The government is committed to move forward with the necessary changes to the educational system that will enable us to face today's challenges, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said yesterday.

Opening the debate on Parliament on the new Education Bill, Minister Galea said that the reforms contemplated in this law are the result of a wide consultative process with all stakeholders in the system.

He said that in 2004, 66 per cent of youths aged 17 years were still at school, a rise of almost 20 per cent from 43 per cent in 1999. Post secondary students also doubled from 1994 to 2004, with 20,000 two years ago, up from the 10,000 in 1994.

Minister Galea explained that from the 20-24 age group, 56 per cent had completed Higher Secondary Education in 2005, up from 46 per cent in 2002. Early school leavers were down to 38 per cent in 2005 from 52 per cent in 2002, he added.

Between 1998 and 2005, there were over 1,100 Masters and PhD graduates while students at MCAST had topped the 4,000 mark with a capital investment of Lm5 million in five years, the Education minister added.

He said that the creation of a college system would create a new structure enabling a direct link from the earliest days of primary education to the last days of secondary education. The Minister also explained the various reforms within the Education Division directorates together with performance and assessment policies.

Minister Galea also gave details on the setup of various new commissions including the Teachers Commission and the reform of the Board of Governors at MCAST.