The month of November in Malta, for an increasing number of people, means graduation time. With a University population getting bigger year after year, the number of professionals in our country is growing rapidly. In a country that does not have any natural raw resources we have to make up for this handicap by providing the best service through professionalism.
This is not an easy task. It takes years of training and investment to “produce” people who can compete on the same level as in any other country. It has become a common occurrence that our lecturers are invited to universities abroad to pass on their knowledge to foreign students. This shows that our professionals are among the finest one may find in Europe.
Our students nowadays are being offered opportunities to share their knowledge with their foreign counterparts both locally and abroad. These opportunities are being made easier thanks to programmes available due to Malta’s accession in the European Union.
These programmes are offering possibilities to our students to experience life in European universities and exchange knowledge with other students. The main EU programme in this field is Socrates. Its main objective is precisely to build up a Europe of knowledge and therefore provide a better response to the most important challenges of this new century. The promotion of life-long learning, language learning encouraging mobility and innovation, an accessible educational system, and helping people acquire recognised qualifications and skills are the main objectives of this programme.
Socrates is divided into eight actions, or types of projects. Among others, Comenius targets school education, Erasmus targets higher education, Grundtvig’s main objective is adult education and other education pathways; language learning is covered by Lingua, while Minerva takes care of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education. The Socrates programme also provides tools for observation and innovation of education systems and policies, joint actions with other European programmes and supplementary measures
Comenius’ focal point is the first phase of education, from pre-school and primary to secondary school, and it is directed to all members of the education community.
Erasmus is the higher education programme. It seeks to enhance the quality and emphasises the European aspect of higher education by encouraging trans-national cooperation between universities, boosting European mobility and improving the transparency and full academic recognition of studies and qualifications throughout the EU.
Grundtvig’s aim is to improve the quality and reinforce the European dimension of adult education of a non-vocational nature. It also assists to make better life-long learning opportunities more widely available to Europe’s citizens. The Lingua Action is intended to encourage linguistic diversity throughout the EU; improving the quality of language teaching and learning while promoting access to life-long language learning opportunities suitable to each individual’s needs.
Minerva Action looks at the promotion of European cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in education.
Observation and innovation of education systems and policies consists of data collection and comparative analysis of educational systems and policies in the member states; development of methods for evaluating the quality of education and facilitation of the recognition of diplomas, qualifications and periods of learning at all educational levels in other member states.
Joint Actions aim to support a “Europe of knowledge” and focus on themes that, by their very nature, are not limited to one field alone, i.e. education, training or youth policy. They call for reinforced cooperation between actors from various sectors and fields of knowledge.
Accompanying Measures support various activities, which, though not eligible under the main actions, will clearly contribute to achieving the programme’s objectives. Raising awareness, improving the implementation, maximising the impact of European cooperation in the field of education to relevant target groups or the public concerning the Socrates programme or the importance of European cooperation in the field of education more generally.
These possibilities, together with other opportunities provided by the Nationalist Party in government, are providing our students, young and not so young alike, with tools to gain the cream of the crop within the European educational system. The initiatives taken by the Maltese government in the last budget are encouraging students to specialise further in their field of study. The scholarships support scheme is just one of the measures that are persuading scholars to continue reading for masters’ degrees that are useful for our country’s future.
The opportunities that are out for grabs for our students contrast with the measures taken by Labour administrations in the past. Numerus clausus and reduction of stipends are just two policies taken by Labour administrations in the past that discouraged people from furthering their studies.
The Nationalist Party has always believed that education is a key player for the future of this country: by investing in education we are investing in our future. I would like to conclude my contribution by congratulating all graduates for their success.
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David Casa is a Nationalist MEP