“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another” – G.K. Chesterton, English writer

Recently, I took part in the European Council for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport in Brussels. It was another occasion that continued on many other virtual meetings held over the last year of the pandemic. Apart from evaluating and learning from the successes of member states of the EU, I feel proud to report and explain the advances our country is making in the Education sector.

Such high level meetings always bring out the admiration of my counterparts from member-states that are much larger than ours, for the way a small country like ours is able to adapt and create counter measures in times of crises such as what is happening now during the pandemic. This is all thanks to clear vision and the sense of innovation of the Labour Government, together with the collective hard work put in by all stake-holders involved in the education of our children.

Collective commitment

In my intervention at the EYCS meeting I stressed on the importance to give the basic digital competences from early years and to those who lag behind, while pushing forward towards more advanced computing education to corroborate a digital, smart and resilient economy.  

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged and interrupted the normality of students’ educational journey and educators alike. The last two years have shown clearly that our Education system is strong and able to adapt. It was not an easy situation, however, we were determined to operate in every way possible so that our children continue their journey as smoothly as possible. In some instances we had to close our schools for a few months.

It was our responsibility to ensure that the health of our students and educators comes first. This period of time was a challenge for everyone, including our students, educators and parents. However, we rose to the occasion and found new resilience and managed to adapt to delivering quality education through digital means.

Our priorities

I have reiterated all along that our children remain our top priority. Their right for education is as important as their health. This is why we invested millions of euro in the upgrading and redistribution of our classes to provide a safe environment for our students and their educators once the lockdown was lifted.

This challenge could never have come about without the dedication and perseverance of our educators.  Through long hours of preparation, they managed to convert and adapt their teaching skills to virtual delivery.

The cooperation of parents, guardians and grand-parents also played a crucial role during the pandemic. They took the challenge of balancing work and time spent with their children for their virtual home-schooling, admirably. We have succeeded thanks to the courageous decision of our Ministry to invest heavily in the technological access for all families and students to that alternative virtual learning.

Comparing and excelling

This is what we discussed amongst other things, during the EYCS Council in Brussels. Together with my counterparts we compared the challenges we faced during the pandemic and the results we attained as counter-measures to mitigate the effect of the shut down of schools. We were also determined to set out the way forward.

It was a common experience amongst member states that in many instances we had to fight against the misconceptions of the general public on the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of us converged on the importance of mational rather than individual priorities and insisted and still insist on the principle that the common good and civic duty take precedence over personal gain.

Altruism won the day

During the Council meeting we all agreed that the pandemic gave us the opportunity to recognise the importance of civic duty and collective responsibility that took precedence over individual rights. This happened in most European countries – altruism won the day and helped mitigate the negative impact our students could suffer.

In most countries, including ours, this conviction succeeded, but in other countries it did not and harmed their education system and their students’ future in many ways. In the case of Malta, we fared well - all thanks to the endless meetings set up by my Ministry with all those who somehow couldnt understand the gravity of the situation. We also managed to show how these challenges could be transformed into opportunities in the years to come.

The way forward - together 

The long months of COVID-19 have been indeed challenging to one and all, but lessons have been learned by all stake-holders that the only way forward is facing challenges together. Our sense of duty in our respective roles is key to stand up bravely and move ahead throughout our students' journey.

Despite the challenging path. we proceeded with our plans to strengthen our already robust education system. The launch of the second National Strategy for Digital Education 2021-2030, will lead to promoting digital transformation into the educational system across all levels so that our younger generation will acquire digital competences which are indispensable to foster next generation digital learning communities.

Dr Justyne Caruana is Minister for Education