Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/248536
22 Opinion maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JANUARY 2014 Evarist Bartolo Why are children not learning? F ifty seven million children around the world still do not go to school. Three hundred million attend school but after 12 years of schooling, still do not acquire the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to succeed in education and in life. At the beginning of this week, ministers from all over the world met in London at the World Forum on Education to discuss what we need to put right in our schools and how to improve education and learning for children. For many years, governments and ministers of education have been boasting what percentage of GDP they spend on schools, how many new schools they have built, how many laptops or tablets they have handed out to children and teachers but they have failed to ask and answer a more important question: Why are there too many children who are still leaving school without learning to read and write? In Malta and Gozo, we are also tasked with answering this question. In international surveys on reading and writing, maths and science, we place in the bottom half. In primary schools our own surveys show us how many children are already lagging behind in the early years of primary and seven years later when they complete their secondary education they have still not improved their basic skills. Those who fail to become proficient in English also fall behind in maths and the other subjects. This is unacceptable. We cannot afford to have more than half of our fifth formers either not sitting for their SEC exams or if they do, they do not pass in one single exam or manage only a pass in one or two subjects. We must not let our youngsters fall further behind. In Malta and Gozo we have the highest level of school leavers; that is, youngsters who finish their secondary education without the necessary skills they are expected to achieve after 13 years of schooling. Improving these results is the biggest challenge that we have to face in the immediate future. This country's future is at risk if we continue to have so many young people leave school unskilled and unqualified. There is no way our country can prosper and succeed as an open democratic society if we have so many people without the skills to use Maltese and English and the ability to handle numbers, understand basic science and are good at computing. But our children also need to be able to think and solve problems. The biggest constraint on our economic growth and prosperity is our inability to develop the skills and talents of our people. That is why we must carry out the necessary changes to improve our education system so that our children learn the necessary skills to succeed at school and in life. Most of the countries around the world are improving their system and introducing the necessary changes. With so many reforms on a large scale around the world, the pace of Disappointed and frustrated students disrupt their own education and that of others – they do not allow teachers to teach reform in schools is not being set nationally any more: while others change and you fail to change you are allowing your country to fall behind. We need to design a learning experience in our schools that is not driven solely by the SEC exams and syllabi and by getting children into university. While those who want to go on to university must be supported and stretched to succeed, we must provide an alternative route to those who learn differently. We must realise that there are different learning tracks for children who learn differently – some learn by studying and some learn by doing. In Finland half of the students choose to go on to vocational education. In Switzerland 70% of their children go on to vocational education. Singapore celebrates its vocational education by describing the students as people who think with their hands. In Malta and Gozo we must provide this kind of vocational experience and education in our secondary schools so that we can provide a relevant experience 'The co-education reform is going to take six years to implement – we are definitely not rushing ahead blindly' for children. Disappointed and frustrated students disrupt their own education and that of others. They do not allow teachers to teach. The positive experiences we are having with projects we have started this year encourage us to spread alternative learning programmes in our secondary schools in the coming months. We will support all those efforts in our schools aimed at providing alternative learning programmes for those children who come from primary schools without the necessary basic skills to succeed. We will also work with primary schools to implement action plans to work with those children who are identified as having literacy problems from an early age. We need to focus on ensuring that our children get the basic skills they need. Change is indispensable and we cannot keep postponing the required changes, for the sake of children's education. Recently there have been some concerns about the introduction of co-education in secondary state schools. This reform is going to take six years to implement. We are definitely not rushing ahead blindly. We are building on the positive co-educational experiences we already have in Malta in both the independent and state sector. Internationally, co-education has been the norm for decades and in some places far more than that. In Scandinavia, where the standards of education are amongst the more advanced in the world, the principle of mixed gender schools was introduced from the 18th century in Denmark and from the 19th century in Norway. Some of the best assessments achieved worldwide are obtained through the TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA results and all these have co-education. The best education systems in the world have boys and girls learning together in secondary schools. There are only a few countries where single sex schooling is the norm: countries like Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan and in the Middle East. These have single sex schools for religious and not educational reasons. But even in a number of Islamic countries there are co-educational secondary schools. The only Islamic school in Malta is also co-educational. Evarist Bartolo is Minister for Education CHECK OUT EVARIST BARTOLO'S LATEST COLUMNS ON http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/blogs PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARIAT FOR RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY AND ACTIVE AGEING PALAZZO FERRERIA, REPUBLIC STREET, VALLETTA, MALTA COURSE LEADING TO A CERTIFICATE AS CARE ASSISTANT The Department for the Elderly and Community Care is offerring once again an opportunity to suitable candidates to follow a specialized course, inclusive of theory and practice, in care services. On successful completion of the course, a Certificate will be awarded to each respective candidate making them eligible to work as Care Assistant. The course commences on 10th March 2014 and is a 4 month full time course. Lectures and practical components will be held from Monday to Friday. This is an opportunity for those interested in working in an elderly environment in any of the local Homes for the Elderly in Malta. All applications are being accepted, strictly from Monday 3rd February to Friday 14th February 2014 between 9.00 am to 12.00 pm. Applications may be sent by post or delivered by hand at the Accounts Section, Department for the Elderly and Community Care, Centru Ħidma Soċjali, Triq il-Kbira San Ġużepp, Santa Venera. Each application must include a Police Conduct Certificate, a School leaving Certificate, copy of Identity Card and copies of any Academic Certificates held by the applicant, plus a payment of €75 (to be returned if a candidate is found not suitable to follow this course). Cheques are to be addressed to the Director Elderly and Community Care. Those interested may obtain further information by contacting department personnel on telephone numbers 22788441, 22788449, 22912393 or visit website www.activeageing.gov.mt