Education has been identified as one of the three pillars for Malta’s future and therefore this sector is undoubtedly a key priority for this government. It is the government’s target to establish our country as a centre of excellence in education by 2015. This is fundamental to our country’s social and economic progress and also to the individual fulfilment of our people and the strengthening of our nation as a whole.
Over recent years, the government has invested heavily in the obligatory educational sector with the aim of giving a better educational and successful experience to all our children so that they can develop further in creativity skills and innovation. Recognised landmarks of this investment were the building of new schools, the extensive maintenance of existing ones and the establishment of the college system.
The colleges and other ancillary education structures are now in the process of being strengthened and more programmes and services are being developed, to ensure that quality education is provided so that all our children can succeed. This budget just reaffirmed the government’s continuous renewal of the long held principles.
The participation rate of 17-year-old students in further education increased from 37 per cent in 2000 to around 70 per cent today. The government has set the ambitious target of 85 per cent of students aged 16-18 to be attending programmes leading to a post-secondary qualification by 2010.
Malta has also increased its efforts in the field of research and innovation. The outstanding performance of the University of Malta in the European Union’s Framework Programme for research and innovation (FP6) is indicative of the potential for growth in this area with 38 projects undertaken under this round of funding.
The university has already secured e50 million in EU funded projects, and more are being used. For the coming year, the vote for university has been increased by e4.4 million to e36 million.
The Foundation for Tomorrow’s Schools is going to invest e13 million to finance the programme for 2009 while works will proceed in the primary school in Pembroke, construction will also commence at the secondary school in Victoria and the building of new secondary school in Mosta. Perhaps the most remarkable of all is the notion that as it has done in the last three years, the government is determined to open a new school each year.
This budget allocated capital investment for facilities and infrastructure in the University of Malta for the new ICT faculty. Together with an increase in the stipends as an extra incentive for students attending, this course shows the ultimate government desire to produce more students from this faculty, and sustain the demand that exists and that is expected to increase especially with projects like SmartCity and other foreign companies settling here.
During this year, three childcare centres were opened in Luqa, Paola and Gharghur. A network of childcare centres across the Maltese Islands and within the colleges is another point of reference. During the coming years, the 10 colleges should have at least one centre each.
An increase of e4.4 million to continue strengthening support systems in order to improve the quality of learning for children were also allocated.
e3.7million for the new MCAST campus project and implementation of the master plan have been allocated. Three programmes of e13.3 million will be implemented, whereby lecturers will have the opportunity to upgrade their qualifications.
This was practically a run through of the government’s action plan with regard to education, steering our country to achieve the high standards achieved in Europe.
As outlined in the Lisbon strategy, it is clear that Europe plans to compete with foreign markets by having acknowledge based society. It is good to notice that the government is proactive in this concept and chose to make the creation of a knowledge based economy as one of the productivity drivers of the country together with having research and development as one of the core principles for government action.
Central to achieving the aim of safeguarding and increasing our country’s prosperity and ensuring greater social inclusion is a good education system. I do believe that we need to concentrate most efforts on making every opportunity to education more inclusive and responsive to the needs of marginalised groups to keep reducing early school leavers, improving the quality and standards of further and higher education.
Education is the tool that provides children, youths and workers with the best set of skills, skills that they can use to exploit the best opportunities. This is what the Nationalist Party realised long ago, and in placing education as one of the three main pillars, it is being given its due importance. With this government, we are sure to provide all members of our society with proper education, and ultimately the tools to succeed.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP
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