A strategy to reduce the rate of early school leaving was announced on Thursday, with proposals including a greater focus on reading skills, an option for exam papers in Maltese and an extension of free childcare to all children, no matter their parent's employment status.

The Early Leaving from Education and Training Strategy (ELET) aims to reduce the rate of early school leavers to 9% by 2030. 

As it stands, 10% of 18 to 24-year-olds in Malta are early school leavers, higher than the EU median by around a percentage point.  

School leavers are those aged 18 to 24 who achieve fewer than two O-level exams and do not continue studying or training. 

“Everyone deserves the chance to be allowed to fulfil their potential,” education minister Clifton Grima said. 

The strategy looks to prevent the risks of early leaving from education and training (ELET) for socially disadvantages children, provide targeted support for students who lag behind in school, and re-engage students who have quit or are disengaging from the educational system.  

Among the 15 measures listed in the document is a plan to extend the free childcare scheme to all children to achieve this goal.

This would especially help students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the government strategy says. 

As it stands, only toddlers whose parents are employed or in education qualify for the free childcare scheme, but the document says that children whose parents are not working or studying are often the ones who need the most support.

“Childcare centres offer customised services and quality care to all children, especially children at risk of social exclusion. Activities at these centres target all areas of child development, including social, emotional, physical, intellectual, communicative, and creative aspects,” the strategy says. 

Greater focus on reading

The government also plans to set guidelines for primary schools to dedicate at least 90 minutes a day to language and reading instruction.

"Schools with many low-achieving students should consider allocating additional time to reading," the document says. 

Another measure aims to do away with the requirement that most O-level exams are completed in English.

This "is an unnecessary barrier to certification, particularly for weaker students and for students whose instruction has primarily been through Maltese," the document says. 

Students should be able to choose the language in which they take the exam, the strategy says. 

Malta has seen a drastic drop in early school leaving in the last 13 years. In 2010, 21.4 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds were early school leavers. 

In December 2022, 10.1 per cent of young people had left education or training. 

That figure is still above the EU median of 9.5 per cent.