It is customary to have a day where we celebrate and remember particular sections of our society. Of course we also have a day in our calendar year dedicated to children. Universal Children’s Day comes and goes but the problems and goals to be achieved remain. It was on 14 December 1954 that the General Assembly recommended all countries to institute a Universal Children’s Day. This had to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children. It recommended that the day be observed also as a day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of the world. We celebrated this day on 20th November.

Education is one of the fundamental rights that children around the world have. Unfortunately not all children enjoy this right. This is due mainly to poverty, ignorance or lack of awareness of its importance, lack of opportunities and more. Millions of children around the world are deprived of their right to education. The result is that one out of three children have never been inside a classroom. UNESCO is working with national governments and development partners to achieve universal free primary education and gender equality by 2015.

In fact, achieving universal primary education is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals. Developed countries, especially, must ensure that by 2015 children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete the full course of primary schooling. As Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO said: “To pursue the aim of education for all is therefore an obligation for States.” Malta should also play a role in all this. In my opinion, Malta’s role is two-fold.

First we must continue implementing the Millennium Development Goals locally and informing the Maltese about the existence of these eight goals, and secondly to play a role on the global scene and give our share to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in all countries. One must highlight the fact that we managed to achieve universal primary education. However, we still have a number of students who for one reason or another leave compulsory education without the necessary basic skills and some even illiterate. Another thing we need to improve upon from primary level is quality education for all children. Absenteeism is still very high and this is contributing negatively to our society and families. The Malta Labour Party is aware of all this. In fact, we proudly say that, since 1920, the founders of the party always spoke in favour of education and more education. In July 2006 we approved a plan for education that has every child, irrespective of his/her abilities, in the centre. We are making a number of proposals to try and eradicate illiteracy and to give basic skills to every student. Top priority is given to the early and primary levels. Just to mention a couple of proposals we are suggesting that early school educators must be more qualified, something which the government inserted in the agreement with MUT. Also, we are proposing to introduce a reception class at age six. This suggestion came from the teachers themselves in a public meeting we organised prior to the publication of the first draft plan for education. This will also fill the gap that is explained in the National Minimum document from informal to formal education.

The Labour Party is also proposing to start continuous assessment; something which had to be introduced in the year 2000 after the NMC was published in the previous year. Assessment has to be student friendly that should celebrate students’ abilities rather than the opposite. School population is also important and we are proposing that this at primary level does not exceed 400. Also, the number per class should not be more than 25 students.

The Senior Management Team has to work better together and also concentrate on the development of students and their progress in education rather than on day-to-day administration. All the necessary technological resources need to be updated in our schools, and this is also another proposal we are pledging to implement as soon as we are in government. In today’s world we cannot do without giving science its importance. We cannot do without this subject at primary level. It is useless to say that we want to achieve the Lisbon Goals in the number of graduates in science subjects, when science is almost absent in primary schools.

These are some of the proposals one can find for the primary level in the Plan for Education as part of the New Beginning that the Malta Labour Party wants to give to our country. We built this plan by putting all our children first. For us all children matter and everyone can contribute to make Malta a better place to live in.

Mr Abela is shadow minister for education, youth and

culture