Last year the Maltese spent 12% more on books, newspapers and periodicals than they had in 2011 and, according to figures released by the National Statistics Office yesterday, the average spend on reading amounts to 1.15% of total private consumption expenditure.
The news is encouraging for a country that has been at pains to increase the popularity of reading and literacy rates for years now, but it is the younger generation still in school that we need to most urgently address.
Malta, according to international comparative studies released recently, is lagging quite drastically in terms of literacy and reading, and in fact our 15-years-olds in the most recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) report placed 45th out of 74 countries in terms of literacy and reading – well below EU and OECD averages, and with girls greatly outperforming boys.
This is certainly not a ranking that the country should settle for but in all honesty the writing has been on the wall for a long time now but we have either failed to read it, have been unable to interpret it or we have just lacked the will to address the difficult subject.
But if our human capital is the only natural resource this country has, as has been said time and time again, then the attainment of literacy by the country’s children - in this new economy of ours that values knowledge and lateral thinking far more than manual skills - is paramount to the country’s very economic survival.
Flagging literacy rates are particular to Europe and to Malta in particular. In a recent joint opinion piece in our sister Sunday edition, 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 – set the record straight on just how important literacy, proper literacy, is to economic progress.
They pointed out how research shows that if Europe were to achieve its current 2020 goal of functional literacy among 85% of 15-year-olds, as well the matching 85% targets in maths and science, the EU’s gross domestic product could stand to rise by a whopping €21 trillion over the lifetime of the generation born in 2010.
For Malta, this translates into an incredible increase of €10.5 billion over the lifetime of the current generation of children, close to two years of the country’s gross domestic product.
They also cited statistics that show the ratio of low achievers in reading among Malta’s 15-year-olds stands at 36.3%, considerably higher than the EU average of 19.6%. Moreover, Malta has the highest reading and literacy gender gap in the EU, as low achievement being twice as prevalent among boys (48.4%) than among girls (24.4%).
These figures certainly do not bode well for Malta, although the country has recently registered some success in stemming the flow of early school leavers, it still remains in last place among its EU fellow member states in this respect.
At an average of 36.3%, Malta is the third-worst performer in terms of reading literacy in the EU and is just behind Romania and Bulgaria. The figures are a far cry from top literacy performer Finland’s 8.1% and even from the EU average of 19.7%.
These statistics do not bode well for the country’s future. People with low literacy are less likely to finish school, more likely to be unemployed, especially in times of crisis, and are more likely to suffer from poor health. Poor literacy thwarts aspiration and ambition and children of adults with poor literacy skills are more likely to struggle in reading.
Poor literacy limits personal development and civic participation, increases poverty, hinders innovation, reduces productivity and stifles economic growth. Poverty and low literacy are locked in a vicious circle with each fuelling the other.
Moreover, by 2020 it is estimated that 35% of all jobs will require high-level qualifications as compared to today’s 29%.
The writing has been on the wall for a long time now, and it is hoped that the current government will actually take the time to read it.
Positively, the education minister last week said that the government was working on a national literacy strategy and that it is expected to be published in the coming weeks. With the issue having been one of that particular minister’s main battle cries when he was in opposition, it is encouraging that, now in power, he is taking the bull by the horns.
Improved literacy rates will spell out a better and brighter future for the younger generation and, in turn, for the country itself over the decades to come.