In an interview given to this newspaper’s sister publication The Malta Independent on Sunday, Education Minister Dolores Cristina announced that plans are being drafted to monitor the high number of youngsters that opt not to study beyond the age of 16.

It would be tempting to say not before time, but the idea immediately strikes one as being a good one, one which is needed, and one which will help to at least gain a better understanding of those people who do not make more of the education system.

As we have said, the idea might sound obvious, but the benefits of setting up such a system far outweigh any attempt at criticism for not having implemented it sooner.

The idea is to keep tabs on youngsters that leave school at the age of 16 – one does not need demographics and statistics to say that these teenagers probably leave school with little or no qualifications. In all probability, they will also have problems reading and writing.

One can factor into the equation that these 16 year olds lose their bravado once they realise that their friends have a good pay, a good job and good prospects. Somewhere down the line, they will realise that they have made a mistake and do actually want to learn to do something which can unlock a better and more prosperous future.

The Ministry hopes to be able to then target those individuals who do struggle in the hope of offering them advice on how to get back into the educational system. When we talk about education, we are doing so in the wider sense of things. One cannot simply think in terms of ‘O’ levels, Junior College, MCAST and University. We must think of it in every aspect – basic skills, literacy, use of IT, courses by local councils and the Employment Corporation and more.

The truth is that while this is going to be aimed at those who find themselves jobless, it will serve a much higher purpose. The Ministry can use the eventual agency which will handle the job to disseminate information to people aged between 16 and 21: information about EU-funded courses, new courses at the university and at MCAST.

The potential in this idea is truly enormous and on more than one front. If the agency is set up properly, there will have to be synergy with the schools in checking out student history and areas where they have struggled or performed well. This will in turn allow the authorities to target what might be going wrong in particular schools and help them to improve. On the flipside, they can also see areas where schools have yielded good results and use that experience to help others which are lagging behind.

One does not have to be a great philosopher to realise that in finding a cure, one must first understand the symptoms. As in the past, the situation Malta finds itself in is having a disease which is easy to treat, but hard to recognise in its infancy. Yet, it is impossible to treat when it has fully developed. Once these youngsters get to the age of about 25, it is very difficult to bring them back into the education system. This is a good idea and the Minister should pursue it with vigour. Only positives can come out of this – but let us not take forever to get it set up.