The introduction of applied versions of the four core subjects – Maths, English, Maltese and Science – will likely not take place at the start of the upcoming scholastic year as planned, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.
The education authorities are still grappling with implementing the proposed changes to the system, despite plans to introduce a number of new subjects at the start of the scholastic year in September, sources said.
In a major shift of the education system as part of efforts to steer away from a purely academic approach, State school students in Year 9 (formerly known as Form 3) will be able to follow more hands-on versions of certain subjects from the upcoming scholastic year.
Nine new applied subjects will be on offer for these students, together with the applied versions of the four so-called core subjects.
Earlier this year, during the period when students chose the subjects for the following year, they were told it would be the school that would “direct” them as to whether they would study the applied version of the core subjects or not.
Sources however said the uptake of these four subjects was very low, prompting the education authorities to rethink rolling them out in September.
The sources also pointed out that in recent weeks, it had also emerged that the level of the syllabi for applied core subjects did not match the skills of the students taking them up.
They also pointed out that teachers from various schools were still not sure whether their colleges would be offering the subjects to their students or not.
In recent weeks, The Sunday Times of Malta tried to obtain information on the matter from the Education Ministry.
In June, a government spokeswoman said all questions would be addressed during a press briefing that was supposed to take place some days later. No such briefing was held.
The Sunday Times of Malta has since requested the number of students who opted for the applied subjects, both the nine new ones as well as the four core topics, but these have yet to be provided by the ministry despite several reminders.
The ministry was also asked whether students and their parents have been informed of the recent developments and whether the children would still be eligible to sit for the newly-designed Secondary Education Applied Certificate (SEAC).
The SEAC will be the applied equivalent of the SEC certificate awarded to students who pass their O Levels.
According to the Framework for the Education Strategy for Malta 2014-2024, the introduction of the ‘My Journey’ programme, which involves learning “through different paths” such as through applied subjects, should occur this year.
Educators who had spoken to The Sunday Times of Malta earlier this year had lamented “lack of information” on the new subjects, saying that despite plans for these to be rolled out in September, they had little information.
Some had even said they were still unaware who would be teaching the new subjects even though the changes were only six months away.
At the time, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo had dismissed the teachers’ concerns, insisting the issues will be sorted out before September.
Commenting in the wake of concerns flagged by the teachers’ union that the introduction of the new subjects was half-baked, Mr Bartolo insisted that any “genuine” issues that could be addressed would be dealt with ahead of the launch.