Last year, when the Education Ministry announced a reform in the way primary school students move on to their secondary education, I was afraid that the idea would lead to the collapse of the government schooling system, as had happened during the Labour administration of the 1970s and 1980s.

Like many others in my age group, I was one of the victims of the Labour Party’s (failed) attempt to raise a generation of idiots. Totalitarian political parties aim to control the population by leaving them in the dark, by not allowing them to learn and by keeping education at the lowest of levels. In this way, it is much easier for them to rule.

When the Labour government removed examinations in between primary and secondary schooling overnight, it was just the first step towards the steady deterioration of the State education system. There were other decisions that had the same aim. For example, computers were not allowed with the excuse that jobs would be lost, whereas a numerus clausus scheme limited the number of students who could enrol for a university course. I still remember the time when the Tal-Qroqq complex accommodated just 600 students, while some courses were not available every year.

It was in this way that the Labour Party of the time wanted to nurture ignorance. After all, educated people ask questions, do not accept what is thrown at them simply because the authorities say so and react with intelligent arguments. Labour wanted to avoid this.

Thankfully, Church schools existed, and there was a mad rush as parents pushed their children – we are talking about nine and 10-year-olds – into studying long hours to pass examinations to enter a Church school. The families who believed in education as being the foundation of life made great sacrifices to send their kids to a Church school.

Seeing this, the Labour government launched a battle to close them down, another clear indication of how much Labour wanted to suppress education. It was 1984, one of the blackest years for Malta in recent history. Thankfully, again, the huge public protests that ensued forced Labour to back down, and the Church schools’ doors remained open.

All these memories were rekindled when, last year, Minister Dolores Cristina announced the intention to reform the transition from primary to secondary schools. My first reaction was – are we going back in time? Are today’s children to suffer the same fate as those of my generation did? Did we not learn from Labour’s mistakes?

I was among those who criticised the move, thinking that the removal of selective examinations would be detrimental to the education system. I was convinced that the elimination of streaming was not the right way forward, and that we would live to regret it. I argued that in this way the less intelligent ones would hold the more intelligent children back.

Maybe the sufferings I experienced in my childhood still haunt me.

A few days ago, Minister Cristina launched the finished reform at the Mqabba primary school. A year of consultation and meetings with the stakeholders enabled the ministry to fine-tune its initial proposals, and the ball is rolling.

Over the past year, I have followed the developments closely. I have asked questions; I have expressed my reservations. I have visited schools and met college principals and head teachers. I have openly discussed the issues at hand and I have written articles.

And, I must say that, over this period of time, my fears and my reservations have been alleviated. The most important thing is that now I know that we will not go back to the 1980s. The aim of the reform is to improve the situation, to give all children the opportunity to develop their abilities, to bring out the best in them, and not to stifle their learning.

Neither is it a haphazard solution. The minister did not wake up one day and, with the stroke of a pen, ordered a reform that she had dreamt about, a common occurrence in the Labour days.

On the other hand, the change is the result of studies and reports, of consultation and dialogue, and it is the natural step after the formation of what we know today as colleges. Government schools and education, which under Labour governments were neglected, are today big and competent rivals to Church and independent schools.

I would be lying if I said that today I am 100 per cent convinced that the reform will be totally successful. A few years will have to pass to make a complete judgment and, if I am still around, I will admit that I am wrong if, by then, I would have been persuaded that the system is working well.

I am not a politician, so it is not hard for me to admit I was wrong.

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Speaking about the 1984 troubles with Church schools reminded me of Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici. Recently, as I was zapping away, I saw him on one of the local TV stations, and stopped to listen.

You must hand it to the man – he is resilient. Five years after Malta’s European Union membership, he is still saying that we should have not have become members. And he was speaking of ways how we should get out.

Dream on, Karm.

scalleja@independent.

com.mt