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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 JUNE 2019 1 July, 2009 Doubts remain on Simshar inquiry THE preliminary inquiry into the tragedy of the fishing boat Simshar in July 2008 has found no evidence to contradict the version of events of sole survivor Simon Bugeja. The inquiry was tabled in parliament yester- day and was conducted by Dr Ann Fenech, who said there was limited evidence to either contra- dict or corroborate Bugeja's testimony. Four people died during the ill-fated fishing trip, including Bugeja's 11-year-old son Theo, his 61-year-old father Carmelo, Noel Carabott, 33, and Somali national Abdulrahman Gedi, 21. According to Bugeja, a fire on board the Sim- shar led to an explosion that consumed the en- tire boat and threw his crew overboard. Bugeja spent an incredible eight days at sea before being recovered by a fishing boat that was sent out to find him. "It is not possible to conclude with any degree of certainty that the events which surrounded the casualty affecting the vessel Simshar as ex- plained by the sole survivor actually took place exactly the way he said they did," Fenech said. But she said there were limited pieces of inde- pendent evidence which would go towards cor- roborating some of what the witness stated. "The fact that little of what the witness has stated has been corroborated by other independ- ent evidence, does not however in my view mean that one can legitimately put to doubt the rest of what the witness stated." Fenech said that save for four areas which threw some doubt over the recollection of the witness and which produce some inconsist- ency in those areas, she did not come across any evidence to "seriously challenge the important parts of the evidence" given by Bugeja, "being that an explosion took place whilst they were out at sea, that a fire ensued as a result of which the boat was totally consumed by the fire, that all the persons on board the vessel ended up in the sea, that all the persons except for Simon Bugeja started to pass away one by one and that there was no foul play causing the casualty either by anyone on board or any other third party." … Fenech also put paid to various rumours sur- rounding the disappearance of the Simshar, citing a lack of evidence. "I have heard rumours of the Simshar having been attacked by foreign fishermen, who shot at the vessel repeatedly, leading to an explosion on board. I have heard rumours about foreign fishermen with whom Si- mon Bugeja previously had arguments, attacking the boat, throwing all the persons off the boat into the sea and taking the boat; I have heard rumours about the same fishermen throwing the four adults into the sea and going off with the vessel and the boy; I have heard rumours of ex- plosives on board the vessel which accidentally took off, causing the casualty - In the 11 months of the inquiry I have come across no evidence that would suggest any of the above are anything more than unsubstantiated rumour." MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week A brave but delicate proposal Editorial "There is a risk - to democracy - that the party gives way to a dangerous situation in which we could face a one-party state." PN Councillor Ivan Bartolo, calling for a vote of confidence in Adrian Delia WHILE proposing changes to the examination process in Maltese schools, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that: "Education is based on three principles: How you teach, what you teach and how you measure that teaching." The first two have long been recognised, and attempts to address them have been made before. Certainly, the curriculum and pedagogy methods have advanced consider- ably, under preceding Nationalist administra- tions as well as the present government. None of these reforms was easy because education is by definition a sensitive topic. Parents and teachers alike have been known to resist radical changes to the educational system: as evidenced by the recent contro- versies surrounding sex education and social acclimatisation. Moreover, past reforms have occasionally been problematic: the overnight introduction of Systems of Knowledge in the late 1980s – while arguably commendable – came about at a time when schools were understaffed and unprepared for the challenge. The same could be said for the brief (and highly controversial) introduction of Arabic as a compulsory subject some years earlier. Nonetheless, there is broad consensus that the education landscape in Malta has changed largely for the better since then… even if the third principle has remained largely unaddressed. The Education Ministry now wants to move away from having schools in Malta being "exam and test factories". But its pro- posed alternatives have not been made clear as yet. The report states that although the bench- mark serves an important role at the end of the primary cycle, it should be phased out anyway: not least because its purpose of serving as a national standard is seriously undermined with the observed trends of in- creasingly more schools – mainly from the Church and independent sectors – dropping out altogether; as well as by the number of Maltese students and the increasing number of migrant students who are exempted from one or more of the benchmark components. The rationale behind this decision is that it makes more educational sense to replace the benchmark with an informal college-based or national assessment, possibly including an exam. Surely, the removal of the benchmark exam for Maltese students is a brave step; albeit a delicate one that necessitates the greatest form of consensus. But this also means setting standards and an ongoing form of rigorous monitoring of students to ensure their entailment is se- cured. That, in itself, will require a greater input from teachers to carry out continu- ous assessment of students – and therefore a greater workload – that will lower the weighting of any exam, thus reducing the memory-work usually required of students. The scheduling of exam times is also be- ing reviewed, with the report stating that students should be given more time to pre- pare themselves from one subject to another, while reducing unnecessary anxiety. These are, however, changes that might be met with resistance. Students, whose lives have been marked by continuous testing, half-yearly and annual exams from the age of six right up to the crucial O-levels, may ques- tion whether the removal of examinations that serve to discipline memorisation and studious application in children, could pro- duce a generation of lazier minds. Supporters may counter-argue that the rigid culture of examinations, in this case the benchmark exam, is just another contributor to anxiety, stress and class barriers: punish- ing students who do not have supportive family environments that prize academia or educational attainment. For this reason, much thought and proper planning must go into the creation of a fairer system of educational assessment: that achieves comparable results with lower stress levels for students, and without placing un- due pressure on teachers and schools. Much could be learnt from the experience of other countries which have undertaken similar reforms. The Finnish model, for instance, may be worth studying in detail. In Finland, the cur- riculum is far less 'academic', and students do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world. Yet they still get the best results in the long term, without sitting for any mandatory exams until the age of 17-19. Teacher-based assessments are used by schools to monitor progress, and these are not graded, scored or compared; instead they are descriptive and utilised in a formative manner to inform feedback and assessment for learning. Outdoor, practical learning opportunities and health-related physical activity sessions are a regular feature in the curriculum: help- ing to maintain a healthy body and mind. Finnish schools also receive full autonomy, with head teachers and teachers experiencing considerable independence when developing and delivering their own individual curricula, suited to their setting. It is hard to believe that this great degree of pedagogical freedom could be possible in Malta, unless the culture of examinations can be first reformed, radically, as the education ministry hopes for. But teachers have to be listened to as well, and they must be included in a wide stake- holders discussion. One cannot achieve the best possible standards to prepare our chil- dren for the world of work, without the input and co-operation of educators. To avoid repeating mistakes of the past, the Education Ministry must also avoid com- pulsory impositions which are every bit as stressful as the system it is trying to replace. In a word, it must lead by inspiration.