Senior educationalists from the EU are in Malta to observe the change process that Malta is going through at the moment as it implements an educational reform which is moving from centralised structures to decentralised ones while grouping primary and secondary schools into autonomous colleges. The participants will be able to meet key stakeholders in the process, to get an inside view of the challenges and opportunities being faced, and to discuss how these are being tackled. This study visit is being organised by Malta under the Socrates ARION programme.
Malta is presently in the process of a new phase in its national educational reform, focusing on the state compulsory primary and secondary schooling. This has always been centrally controlled, with an education division at national level taking the necessary decisions on subjects such as curricula, syllabi, selection and deployment of teachers and administration, resources and school buildings.
However, since 2005 the government’s target in compulsory education has been to make the next step from “education for all”, which has largely been achieved, to “quality education for all”, in which all children are supported to succeed.
To enable the fulfilment of this vision, all state primary and secondary schools have been networked into 10 colleges that will eventually be autonomous and have full responsibility for ensuring that all children, and indeed all communities, within their remit travel along successful and meaningful learning pathways. To ensure that these colleges are properly supported, the Education Division will be transformed into two directorates: the Directorate for Educational Services and the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education. The key stage of this transformation will happen this year.
It is expected that through this study visit, the participants will be able to appreciate the theoretical underpinnings, expected outcomes and practical implications of this reform and understand the role played by various stakeholders, including senior ministry and educational staff, college coordinators, heads of school, teachers, parents and students.
The study visit, which is being hosted by the Education, Youth and Employment Ministry until Friday, will give participants an overview of the Maltese educational system, present the findings and recommendations of the educational reform document “For All Children To Succeed” and present the views of the stakeholders with regard to the implementation process of the reform and the college experience.
The programme includes case studies of colleges and schools involved as well as experience-sharing with the college coordinators, heads of school and other educators involved. Participants will visit the Gozo, Cottonera and St Benedict colleges, which were the first three colleges to pilot the system.
Speaking at the opening of the study visit, the Education Minister said that after a very thorough consultation process, in 2005 he had published the educational reform document “For All Children to Succeed”, which proposed a new network organisation for schools with the aim of providing quality education for all. Minister Galea said that the reform was in fact an evolution or a next step in the development of education in Malta which sought to build on the strengths that our system had and correct its deficiencies which allowed many to fall by the wayside. He said the challenge that the reform was posing was how to ensure that every child was given every opportunity to achieve success.
Dr Galea said that during the scholastic year 2005-6, the college system was piloted in three colleges comprising 31 primary and secondary schools; the network concept was also piloted in special schools. During this scholastic year, another four colleges have started to operate and the last three colleges should start to operate shortly. Dr Galea said that at the same time, the ministry has been working on the Education Division reform.