Pursuing post-secondary education

The National Commission for Higher Education launched and presented the first edition of the NCHE Further and Higher Education Statistics Report to the Minister for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport on January 19. The report describes the further and higher education sector in Malta in 2008.

A census of the student population in public and private institutions was carried out as at reference date March 31, 2008. Twenty-three institutions responded to the survey, 16 of which classified themselves as further education institutions (post-secondary general and vocational) and seven described themselves as higher education institutions (beyond post-secondary level).

The consolidation of the data collected was carried out by the NCHE secretariat throughout 2008. A benchmarking exercise was also conducted to compare Malta's performance to EU member states and other developed countries.

The NCHE Further and Higher Education Statistics report highlights some important facts about the further and higher education sector in Malta. In 2008, the student population in this sector was 21,621; 11,874 students were enrolled in further education and 9,747 in higher education. This excludes 3,511 students pursuing short courses in the further education sector.

The student population increased by just over 50 per cent in the last decade and by just under 20 per cent in the last five years. This was mainly due to a significant increase in the number of students attending day programmes at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast) together with a slight increase in the number of students attending the University of Malta.

The participation rate of 17-year-olds in post-secondary general and vocational education stood at 59 per cent. This means that 41 per cent are early school leavers compared to 14 per cent in Europe.

The participation rate of 19- year-olds in tertiary education, predominantly at the University of Malta, was 24 per cent compared to a 54 per cent country mean in OECD countries.

Twenty-three per cent of the 18-year-old cohort manages to obtain the Matriculation certificate so entry to the University of Malta is restricted for the remaining 77 per cent of this cohort. When analysing the 18-39 age group in Malta, the participation rate in tertiary education is reduced to 5.7 per cent. This is considerably lower than the 11 per cent registered in the EU-27.

Tertiary education provided by private institutions that offer programmes of foreign universities has been emerging over the past few years. Three per cent of all students in higher education and 16 per cent of all students in further education are enrolled in private institutions. The largest proportion of enrolments in tertiary education was in the field of social science, business and law, which accounted for 37 per cent of all students at this level. Enrolments in science-related fields accounted for 16 per cent of all students.

The participation rate of females in higher education was 57 per cent.

The total number of Maltese students pursuing doctoral programmes amounted to 114. This is equivalent to a growth rate of 40 per cent per annum over the last eight years primarily due to scholarship schemes introduced by the government. More than half of Maltese students enrolled in doctoral programmes are preparing for a career in the fields of humanities and arts and social science, business and law. The number of Maltese students pursuing a career in science and technology amounts to just under 24 per cent.

With regard to student mobility in higher education, Malta had more outgoing students than it had incoming with about 850 Maltese students studying abroad and 600 foreign students studying in Malta in 2005. The former represents 10 per cent of the Maltese students pursuing higher education. Over two-thirds were studying in the United Kingdom.

Six per cent of adults in Malta were participating in life-long learning compared to just under 10 per cent in the EU.

At a time when intellectual capital is defining Malta's destiny, measuring the pulse of our education infrastructure is ever more important. Substantial improvements have been made over the years in this sector, however. more progress is required in the future.

Overall, this report highlights the importance of increasing the number of students who pursue post-secondary education. Increasing participation rates at this level is an important determinant in achieving higher participation rates at tertiary level. Research in science, technology and other areas is of paramount importance and is encouraged to enhance Malta's social and economic development.

The author is commission officer at the National Commission for Higher Education.