In a country where the only natural resource is the human one, it is imperative that each and every student is educated and trained to the best of his/her abilities.  Society has evolved in such a way where lack of education and illiteracy will get you nowhere, not even in traditional unskilled labour niches which are always on the decline.  Thus, the fact that Malta has one of the highest rates of early school leavers puts us in a very disadvantaged position not just in a sociological perspective, but even more so in an economical and employment perspective.  Just as an example, various employers have to employ foreigners to fill in specialised posts because they do not find any Maltese citizens with the required qualifications and/or experience, even in trade skilled jobs.

The Malta Union of Teachers has in the past months, and even in former years, provided subsequent governments with various options that could help tackle this problem.  The MUT argues that primarily Education is based on three important pillars – Formal schooling (schools), Informal and non formal education acquired through the family setting, and informal and non formal education acquired through the community and society at large.  Research has shown that up to 70% if a child’s formation comes through the learning acquired outside of school, within family and communal structures.  In spite of this evidence, subsequent governments have opted to try to “fix” the schooling system when in reality it is about time that we start looking at beyond the school and into what is happening out there within family contexts and within the various communities and sub cultures.

Does this mean that the education system is perfect and all the rest is at fault? Definitely not.  There is still much to do to offer a better educational experience to our children in all schools, like, for starters, introducing syllabi and curricula that are built around children’s’ interests with consultation with teachers who are the persons in direct contact.  However it also high time for the politicians of this country to make a bold move and assess what is happening to various children outside schools and address the various issues, some of which are very serious. 

To conclude, Education has unfortunately served as a political ball for too many years and MUT’s calls for the de-politicisation of education went unheeded. Less than a year ago citizens were even treated with the infamous “tablet war”. Therefore with our politicians at the mercy of voters, it is unlikely that important and bold decisions, that might ruffle feathers here and there, are taken.

Kevin Bonello – MUT President