A new Youth Advisory Forum is to be set up by the government to discuss youth issues, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday.
During a cabinet meeting, which took place at MCAST Paola, for which the media was invited for the first part, the Prime Minister said that the purpose of this new advisory forum will be to discuss youth issues with the Cabinet on a monthly basis.
Although not much detail was given about the timeline of when it is going to be set and by whom, Abela said that the government will be issuing a public call very soon.
He said that in accordance with statutory obligations, this forum shall be meeting with the Prime Minister himself on a monthly basis.
During the cabinet meeting, a total of 10 students, coming from different backgrounds were invited to give their input regarding the everyday problems they are facing together with other issues they might want to bring to the table.
A student representative of the Kunsill Nazzjonali Zghazagh (KNZ) identified several educational shortcomings.
She urged for the education department to become more considerate of other skills which go beyond the traditional classroom subjects.
She said that students should be better equipped to face the world once they finish from school.
As a solution, she suggested that more courses should offer critical thinking skills and financial literacy so students can become “more productive members of society”, as apart from this it can promote personal growth.
She also urged the department to become more inclusive in its methods of teaching and assessing, adding that in comparison Malta IQ average is way below the European standard.
Other students, who are both known for being sustainable development goals champions have also taken the time allocated to remark shortcomings by the country.
One point made was that when it comes to the environment although there are laws written down on paper, they are not enforced.
On another note GhSL Policy Officer Andrew Drago, who was also present at the sitting as a student, went a step further and presented a bill to address 1995 judiciary laws which as he described as “outdated.”
He said that the document was compiled by law students within the association and aims to improve laws concerning identified illegalities stemming from the government together with other public officials.
Drago said that as the law stands, it is very difficult for such entities to be brought to court when shortcomings are identified.
He said that amongst other identified issues concerning with this law, it is very difficult for academics and people who need to use it, to fully understand it.
Another student coming from Gozo also highlighted how there needs to be more investment when it comes to businesses. He said that although there are already schemes in place to incentivise businesses to invest in Gozo, there should be more pressure.