In his oration, before 84 young professionals were conferred with their degree from the University of Malta last Tuesday, Prof. Carmel Mallia, from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, provided an excellent definition of what “education” is all about.

“Education, like life, is a journey, not a destination; it is a habit of mind, a philosophy of life, a way of being. The purpose of university education is to make students learn to learn, to continue to question, to challenge established ideas and to test new ones,” Prof. Mallia said.

This definition of “education” does not only apply to the 3,000 or so students who will be graduating this year, or the nearly 10,000 students packing the campus at Tal-Qroqq. It is a definition that applies, and should be applied, throughout the education system in Malta and Gozo – in primary schools, in secondary schools, all the way up the education ladder.

There is more to education than words, numbers, theories and what not. Education is a period of formation, using the many tools and skills that help us to face life, to adapt to situations, that allow us, as adults, to earn a living and, by using our knowledge, provide a service to society.

It is this concept of education that the country’s educators have to instil in the education system, in the next generation of teachers and in the students themselves. Students need to be taught that their education should not begin and end with exams, more exams and a degree.

For far too many years, students have grown up to see schooling as a necessary evil: unless you study, pass your exams, you will get nowhere in life. Although there is an element of truth there, this mentality detracts from the enormous benefits and opportunities that learning – life-long learning – can bring about.

Does the system help students to understand this concept? When young people enter university are they being taught how to learn and how to apply what they learn to real-life situations? Is the system still too focused on assessing “mental knowledge” rather than “applied skills” based on the knowledge that is imparted to them by their tutors, lecturers and mentors? Are today’s university students encouraged to look at university as an opportunity to further their abilities? Why do students go to university: to get a degree that allows them to find a job or to further their education?

These are the type of questions that we must ask every time a new batch of students begin their education at tertiary level. They are important, because the answers will provide a benchmark of how tomorrow’s generation of professionals will be contributing to the country’s knowledge base, to improving Malta’s competitiveness and people’s standard of living.

The students who “learn” to question, analyse and test other people’s opinions are those who will look at research and innovation as a natural part of their education – no – an essential part of their education. But is the system doing this? How many lecturers like their students questioning “their research” or “their viewpoint”? Students sometimes grumble that most of the time they are simply regurgitating notes provided by the lecturers. Lecturers are there to stimulate minds – not create graduate parrots. This is not rampant but it does happen and should be stopped.

The government wants to turn Malta into a centre of innovation and excellence, but this will only happen when tomorrow’s workforce, academics and students are geared towards an education system that adheres to the concept so well-defined by Prof. Mallia.

At the same time, the education system must be supported, through funding or increased human resources, to be in a position to help develop a generation of “graduate innovators” not just “graduates” for whom education is a destination, when they get a piece of paper that proves they have arrived.

The education system has slowly been changing to reflect important trends, such as the importance of vocational qualifications and the increase in the number of people studying post-secondary. But this is not enough if the country is to succeed in the long term.

Malta needs a crop of new, innovative,

questioning thinkers.