Education is key.

This is a phrase we often hear, but is so crucial.

Education is key to getting a good job and education is key to building a better society.

The recent O-Level results show that our education system is lacking as too many youths received an ‘unclassified’ grade in various subjects. For starters, a quarter of students (24.8%) who sat for Maltese and Maths O-levels received such a grade.

This clearly shows that the education system on the island is lacking. Something is wrong, something isn’t working right. Are students not paying enough attention? Are they too distracted?  

This is not saying that teachers don’t do enough. On the contrary, we have no doubt that teachers go above and beyond to help their students succeed, but perhaps this could be a question of resources for instance, or the established teaching methods. Further studies may be needed in this regard.

Every student is different, and more support must be given to those who struggle.

We must also keep in mind that education is also not just about grades. It’s about helping young people gain the skills they need to do well in today’s world. It’s about instilling a thirst for knowledge. It’s about teaching youths to always ask questions and not follow blindly. Schools are a place where youths learn to interact with their peers.  Education is also about instilling a love of arts and culture in the new generations. The list goes on.

We should take a closer look at our education system and ensure that our students are getting the very best education possible.

In a recent interview with this newsroom, Nationalist MP Justin Schembri, the party’s spokesman on education, said that too many students are being lost in the education system. “There’s nothing wrong with going into the world of employment,” he said “but we know that in this current age we need youths who are experienced enough to work by also enrolling in courses such as those offered by MCAST and other institutes”. The situation we find ourselves in, he said, is one in which we have students who may not be academically inclined in the traditional sense, but are not taking the alternative route of applied or practical learning.

When looking towards the future, Malta needs to focus on more quality jobs if the economic model has to change. Certain education qualifications, or well-developed skills would be needed for those jobs, and this highlights the importance of continuing in education, be that at a university, or learning a trade or skill.

The MP made another interesting point. He said that education needs to be individualised. “It needs to be tailored and looked at from an individual perspective,” but for this to happen the number of students per class needs to be decreased. Schembri explained that large, full up classes make it difficult for educators to address each student’s education as individuals. Perhaps this is something that needs to be studies further and, if classes are found to be too large, then it is an issue that needs tackling.

We’ve spoken before about the government creating the National Education Strategy for 2024-2030, and that here lies an opportunity. Students cannot be educated in a one-size fits all approach. People learn in different ways. Surely we can find ways to improve the system. Clearly the results show that there is plenty of room.