Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1488125
NEWS 7 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 14 DECEMBER 2022 The Planning Authority (PA) is proposing to amend Schedule III of the Development Notification Order (DNO). The proposed amendments include: i. To add building height limitation maps for Imriehel and Marsa INDIS Estates; ii. To revise the map for San Gwann INDIS Estate to include a specific site; iii. To delete the map for Kordin INDIS Estate. DNO applications are for any proposed developments which are deemed compatible with the area in which they are being carried out. There are currently 23 category classes of permitted development. The proposed legal notice which will enable these changes, may be viewed on the Planning Authority's website www.pa.org.mt/consultation Individuals and organisations are invited to send their representation related to the proposed changes in writing through email address: dnoamendments@pa.org.mt by not later than the 18th of November 2022. www.pa.org.mt PLANNING AUTHORITY HAVE YOUR SAY OPEN PUBLIC CONSULTATION Amendments to the Development Notification Order Public Consultation imreihel and marsa.indd 1 04/11/2022 09:22:03 JAMES DEBONO AROUND a third of all 15-year- olds in Malta are underachieving in maths, science and reading with no or little improvement over the past decade. The recently launched Na- tional Strategic Action Plan for Further and Higher Education 2022-2030 shows that between 2009 and 2019 the share of low achieving 15-year-olds has in- creased from 32.5% to 33.5% in science and decreased from 33.7% to 30.2% in maths. In reading, the percentage of low achievers practically re- mained the same at 36%. In the European Union, on- ly slightly more than a fifth of 15-year-olds underachieve in these three basic skills. According to the action plan Malta needs to invest more to achieve the EU target of reduc- ing the share of low-achieving 15-year-olds in reading, mathe- matics and science to less than 15%, by 2030. While efforts are being made to make the system more inclu- sive, the action plan warns that the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate educational inequal- ities and low levels of basic skills if its impact is not fully assessed. The plan recommends better support for students' learning needs which is considered to be the key to achieve higher qual- ity. Foreigners more likely to have a tertiary education The percentage of 25 to 34-year-olds who have com- pleted tertiary education in- creased from just 22% in 2009 to 40% between 2013 and 2020. But this increase was mainly the result of an influx of universi- ty-educated foreigners from the EU. In fact, while half of Malta's foreign-born individuals aged between 25 and 34 have com- pleted a tertiary educatio,n only one in three Maltese nationals in the same age bracket have done so. The statistics also cast a light on the geographical division of labour, with young EU nation- als being much more likely to be university educated than non- EU nationals. Official statistics cited in the Action Plan show that while 64% of young EU nationals went to university only 46% of third-country nationals be- tween 25 and 34 years of age have done likewise. But Maltese-born nationals trail behind both EU and third country foreign nationals with only 33% of Maltese youth com- pleting a tertiary level course. The action plan specifically refers to Malta's high reliance on foreigners to meet skills shortages and sustain economic growth. Malta's educational attain- ment figures are still signifi- cantly lower than the average in the EU, where 41% of citi- zens living in their own country have completed a tertiary-level course of study. But immigrants in Malta are better skilled than those in oth- er EU countries. In the EU as a whole only 35% of immigrants have completed tertiary educa- tion compared to 50% in Malta. The report shows that the number of those leaving edu- cation after secondary school have dropped from 33% in 2005 to 17% in 2020. But the rate of students leaving school after secondary is higher than the EU target of 10%. According to the report partic- ipation in adult learning among the low-qualified remains low and a strong drive is required to meet the European target of at least 60% of adults participating in learning by 2030. The action plan which has been issued for public consul- tation aims at setting a strategic direction for Malta 's educa- tional policy. One of the proposals being made to improve higher ed- ucation attainment is a pilot programme of subsidised bank loans to vulnerable students in a bid to reduce the number of students dropping out because of financial reasons. Left behind: One in three Maltese youths underachieve in maths, science and reading While half of Malta's foreign-born individuals aged between 25 and 34 have completed a tertiary educatio,n only one in three Maltese nationals in the same age bracket have done so