Recent news coming from the education sector confirms that education reform is stuck in limbo as short-term tactics predominate over long-term reform.
The most crucial, key, success factor that will decide our future prosperity as a modern nation that cares for all its people must be a more productive investment in education.
The signing of a new agreement for 11,000 educators will see salaries and working conditions improve. This is an important step to kick-start the stalled education reform that must aim at improving the achievement level of our students.
Still, taken in isolation, it is unlikely to rescue the education sector from the quagmire of strategic reform that is so badly needed if we want our younger generations to face a prosperous future.
The publication of the MATSEC results for O- and A-levels confirms the underachievement streak that is endemic in our education system.
One in every five who sat for the O-level exams, that is, over 2,600 students, failed in either mathematics, English language or Maltese, defined as core subjects. Fourteen per cent of those sitting for A-Level subjects, a little over 700 students, also failed their exams.
A superficial assessment of these recent education developments could lead to a misguided interpretation of the state of health of our education system.
The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT), the education minister and the prime minister welcomed the signing of the teachers’ agreement.
MUT president Marco Bonnici argues: “The aim of negotiations was always to improve teachers’ working conditions, which would, in turn, provide a better education experience for our children.”
Education Minister Clifton Grima described the agreement as “the best result ever achieved”. Still, the happy talk of trade unions and politicians fails to define what needs to be done to improve the achievement levels of our students.
Despite expenditure on education ranking above the average in the EU, Malta still has one of the highest levels of early school-leavers.
The PISA reports on Maltese students’ reading, mathematics and science literacy abilities confirm our youngsters’ underachievement in these critical skills compared to some countries we compete with.
The number of university students opting for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is still too low when contrasted with that of the more advanced EU member states.
Still, Prime Minister Robert Abela does not seem to be unduly worried about the performance of the education system. He resorts to platitudes when arguing: “Teachers have a profession, a vocation, that is one of the most important in our country.
They are shaping the future of children and instilling in them the values for life and our future families.”
Abela, however, fails to engage in a soul-searching exercise to define what needs to be done to improve the achievement levels of a sizeable section of our student population that mainly comes from disadvantaged environments.
It is time for an independent commission with bi-partisan support to review the state of health of our education system and define a long-term action plan to improve the performance of students and educators to ensure that our young people are prepared for the country’s challenges.
Policymakers must rope in all stakeholders, including parents, employers, students and educators, to ensure that the required reforms meet their expectations.
Our country simply cannot afford to delay education reform. Any nation’s progress and hope of survival rest in the success of an equitable, effective and successful education system.