Students should be able to study at their own pace without any fear or stigma, Junior College vice-principal Roderick Vassallo believes, saying he feared the negative reaction to the four-year course option offered by the sixth form might have discouraged some from signing up.
Just one student applied to stretch their Junior College studies over four years. In summer, the sixth form unveiled a revamped ‘flexi’ option aimed at those who might require more time to complete their post-secondary education.
Acknowledging the college never envisaged a large number of students applying for the four-year course, Vassallo said there could have been an element of stigma that might have stopped some from opting for the longer course.
“I think we need to seriously consider changing, first and foremost, the education system’s pace,” Vassallo said.
“We – parents, teachers, institutions and our system – have a fixation with homework and extra work. Another fixation we have is exams. It’s absurd to think of an exam as this one moment in time when you are successful and good and that this moment in time is telling the world out there what you have acquired in all your education.”
Such a mentality, coupled with the pressure of finishing the matriculation course in a set number of years, might have contributed to fewer students opting for the flexi programme.
Vassallo said the option is not solely aimed at those experiencing social problems.
In the past, there were students who preferred to focus more on their athletic training but still wanted to stay at the college, making it easier for them to spread the course over four years.
“Studying six subjects over two years while doing all this training is difficult, if not impossible,” Vassallo said.
“Do we want to lose these students? No. Do we want to discourage them from pursuing their athletic aspirations? Do we want them to drop their studies because at the moment this is understandably more important? No.
“So, this offers them a more relaxed base, where even if they lose certain sessions, they can recover them very easily.
“Ultimately, I think the numbers will always be very low, because it attracts a minority of students. But I think that if we allow people to study at their own pace, without any stigma… that would be the best way forward. People should be able to choose for themselves what they think is best,” he added.
In recent years, institutions have been working on keeping young people in education longer as the country continues to register one of the highest early school leaving rates.