Unesco (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) states that literacy is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. The description, as found on the Unesco website, is apt and current − It is absolutely essential to social and human development in its ability to transform lives. For individuals, families, and societies alike, it is an instrument of empowerment to improve one’s health, one’s income, and one’s relationship with the world. Unesco continues by stating what the opposite of literacy means − Illiteracy is an obstacle to a better quality of life, and can even breed exclusion and violence.
I believe we can all accept the above words to be essentially correct and free from all political or social taint. Literacy is the spark that can light the fire for many communities and individuals that will lead to a better life. It does so because it is through literacy, fundamentally, that we improve and educate ourselves. The reverse can also be true. Illiteracy can be the factor that weighs down individuals and communities. I say this because communities can be looked upon as a group of individuals who form the links within a chain. A chain is only as strong as the sum of the individual links. Thus a community that does not have a strong sense of literacy loses the individual spark that is so necessary for it to move forward − to improve the communities themselves and to better ourselves as individuals.
Malta is not faring well in this regard. European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla Vassiliou and Princess Laurentien of The Netherlands − the Chair of the High-Level Group on Literacy set up by the Commission to look into the EU’s concerning literacy rates have opined: “The recent publication of the first PISA results shows that the situation is particularly serious in Malta. Latest statistics show that the ratio of low achievers in reading among 15-year-olds is 36.3 per cent, considerably higher than the EU average (19.6 per cent in 2009). Moreover, Malta has the highest gender gap in the EU, as low achievement is twice more prevalent among boys (48.4 per cent) than among girls (24.4 per cent).”
Apart from the direct effect this has on the individuals concerned, it also has a direct effect on our economy. The 2020 goal for Europe is that of functional literacy among 85 per cent of 15-year-olds, as well the 85 per cent targets in maths and science. In real terms, should our 15-year-olds achieve this goal, it would give our economy a boost of €10.5 billion!
The average for Malta is that of 36.3 per cent. This is a terrible statistic that should make all our recent Education Ministers blush with shame. Tons of questions come to mind but I ask a few simple ones: where have our authorities been the past 20 years? What has been done in real terms to increase the level of literacy in our country on a one on one level? Why has this problem been repeatedly ignored?
There is another worrying fact here, one that is read between the lines. Our government repeatedly points to our tertiary education to show what a huge success our education system has been. Without going too much into the merits or demerits of a tertiary system that seems to have strayed from quality to quantity, I believe it is pertinent to point out that this is only one side of the story. The other side, the negative side, is the illiteracy picture that has now come to the fore.
We need to re-think our education system to ensure that our youngest minds escape the shackles that illiteracy creates. There is only one goal here – to be the best in Europe!
Simon Micallef Stafrace is
a Labour Party candidate
on the 1st and 8th Districts