The department of higher education has presented its final report regarding a study about young people who follow courses in basic skills – the first of its type ever commissioned in Malta – as part of a research programme that is being carried out in the process leading to the drawing up of a national plan for basic skills for adults.

Launching the publication, Education, Youth and Employment Minister Louis Galea said the study is a way of understanding why a number of young people complete obligatory education without having achieved the necessary skills. He said the report is a practical example of creating the necessary synergy between the various departments and institutions within the education sector. The publication delves into the international scenario of research carried out in the sector of basic skills courses for adults, and the study includes face-to-face structured interviews with 50 young people following basic skills courses in Malta, which led to a series of useful reflections and practical recommendations as regards ways of addressing this important part of the education system. The study was conducted by Charles Mifsud, director of the University of Malta’s Literacy Unit, in collaboration with Peter Rudd from the UK’s National Foundation for Educational Research. Professor Mifsud was assisted by Rowena Grech, an official at the same unit and David Muscat, Basic Skills Unit coordinator at the Malta Council for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST).

This study continues to strengthen the integrated effort as a result of a number of initiatives in the basic skills sector including strategies for early intervention to involve young people’s families, methods of acquiring multi-sensoral literacy, specialised education during the first years of secondary education and voluntary intensive training for teachers regarding basic skills in secondary schools.