Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Sunday that he looked forward to a public debate on raising compulsory school age so that the young could be better prepared for the challenges of the future.

He told a Labour political conference in Mosta that the issue is being discussed within the government.

Some countries have raised the compulsory school age to 17 or 18, he observed, but this was not an easy decision.

In his view, Dr Muscat said, there was a strong argument in favour, but there needed to be proper preparation, not least among employers because of a temporary shortage of labour which could mean a bigger need for foreigners. The needs of low-income families who might depend on the salaries of those who left school at 16 also needed to be considered.

At the opening of his address, Dr Muscat said the government’s point of departure had been economic growth because, ultimately, good intentions could not be realised without funding. 

The Labour government was not satisfied solely with growing the economy, but it wanted to make sure that it translated into a higher standard of living. In education, he said, a silent revolution was taking place. 

The former government focused on building a school every year. That was well and good and even now, more schools are being opened, but the important thing was that all schoolchildren benefited from infrastructural improvement, including those in the old schools.

Furthermore, modern technology was being introduced in all schools including tablet computers for schoolchildren. IT literacy was now vital in education. 

Another major change underway in the education sector was in vocational training. As of this year, a new strand within mainstream schooling had been opened enabling schoolchildren to branch into vocational training while staying in their own school. 

Furthermore, initiatives were being taken to stop children from dropping out of the school system, for various reasons. As a result the number of early school-leavers had dropped. 
 
Dr Muscat said this government was improving teachers’ working conditions. The average salary increase in the last collective agreement was of €500 and he looked forward to further increases in the coming years.

At the same time, apocalyptic comments by some quarters were false. Very few teachers were actually resigning. Contrary to what was claimed, only 34 left last year. 

More people resigned from the PN, Dr Muscat joked.

Gender equality in political decision-making

Dr Muscat said an imbalance which needed to be addressed was gender equality in political decision-making. A jump-start of the system was needed.  

Legislation would be introduced, but more women also needed to be persuaded to participate in this sector. 

Another major change was needed in the mentality about climate change.

Up to a few months ago, Dr Muscat admitted, he thought of climate change in terms of the environment, but this affected everything, including the economy and jobs. Unless there was good management, people would suffer, especially those most vulnerable.

One of the former PN government's arguments against reducing power tariffs was that it would encourage people to use more electricity, producing more emissions. 

It was good to reduce emissions, but not by throwing people in poverty through high tariffs.

The present government had reduced emissions by converting the power stations to gas and it was investing millions on a gas pipeline from Europe by 2023.

The challenge now was to reduce emissions from cars. Again, the change had to be managed in a way to ensure that the low-income people who not end up paying.  

Properties too, consumed too much energy and ways were needed for people not to spend so much on cooling and heating.

Dr Muscat said he was confident that the people trusted Labour, more than anyone else, to solve these problems for them.