Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/269668
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 MARCH 2014 10 News Census confirms educational north-sou th divide JAMES DEBONO MALTA'S educational north-south divide has been confirmed by the 2011 census which revealed glaring contrasts between towns like Swieqi, where 30% of its population achieved a tertiary level of education, and Marsa, where just 3% has a tertiary level of education. Overall, Malta's literacy rate rose from 92.8% in 2005 to 93.6% in 2011 and the percentage of those who have completed a tertiary level of education rose from 9% in 2005 to 14% in 2011. It is evident that the relatively high illiteracy in some Maltese towns is a legacy from the dearth of educational facilities in the past: the high rates were mainly registered amongst those aged over 60. But the educational system still fails 507 illiterate youths (aged 10-19) who are still attending school, or have just joined the ranks of the labour force, without being able to write and read. The survey also reveals that 1,256 persons aged between 10 to 19 do not know any English while 2,105 only know a little English. This means that 7% in this age cohort are unable to speak properly in English. 18% of people aged between 15 and 19 have no educational qualifications while 14% left school with just a sec- ondary school leaving certificate, Illiterates under the age of 30 amounts to 1,497 – down from 2,330 in 2005. On the other hand, 12,872 persons over 60 are illiterate. Girls doing it better Boys constitute 71% of illiterate 10- 19 year olds and 76% of illiterates aged between 20-29. Overall males consti- tute 61% of the illiterate population. In an indication that girls are per- forming better in the education sys- tem, while 65% of girls have O levels or A levels, only 57% of boys have the same qualifications. Among those aged 20-29, 15% of men have a first or second degree, but 23% of women have a university degree. Significantly while 1,148 women in this age group have a Master's degree, only 877 men have a Master's. And while 3,386 males have a first degree, 4,902 females have a similar degree. Hotspots of illiteracy Despite the marked decrease in il- literacy among the young, Valletta defies this trend. In the capital city one in every 20 adolescents aged 10-19 in Valletta is illiterate. Valletta has seen an in- crease in this category from 3.8% in the 2005 census to 5.5% in the 2011 census. But literacy improved in Bormla and Birgu, falling from 4.4% in 2005 to 2.2% in Bormla and 1.3% in Birgu. Southern inner harbour towns continue to register the lowest levels of educational achievement: only 3% of Marsa's population and 4% of Bormla received a university level of education. Altogther, 9% of the population living in the south harbour region has had university education, while 18% of those living in the western region have received a similar education. The census also confirms the link between affluence and educational achievements, with the highest lev- els of tertiary education registered in Malta's most affluent towns namely Swieqi, Sliema and St Julian's, and Attard, Balzan, Lija, Naxxar and Mdina. In all these localities, be- tween 25%-33% has been to univer- sity. And since 2005, all Maltese towns saw a 5-7% increase in university- educated people since 2005. On the other side, poorer work- ing class localities register very low levels of tertiary education. These include Marsa, Bormla and Senglea where the percentage of university graduates is of less than 5%, and JAMES DEBONO THE typical CEO in Malta is over 50 years of age, and lives in the north and central part of the island, a report on the national census conducted in 2011 by the National Office of Statistics shows. Census data shows that men account for 81% of Malta's 5,880 CEOs and senior officials, yet another confirmation that it women are far off from entering major companies' boardrooms: according to the census women account for just 15% of employers and 20% of self-employed. The gender pay gap is the difference between men's and women's pay, based on the average difference in gross hourly earnings of all employees. On average, women in the EU earn around 16% less per hour than men: it is below 10 % in Slovenia, Malta, Poland, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania, but wider than 20% in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Estonia. The gender pay gap exists even though women do better at school and university than men. The census breakdown shows that 43% of all CEOs and top management posts are over 50 years of age. Only 5% are under 30, and 24% are aged 30-40. And it looks like only 15% inhabit Malta's south harbour or south-eastern regions, with just 4% hailing from Gozo which accounts for 7% of the Maltese population. The census throws a light on the gender division of labour, with women accounting for only 27% of all management posts. Women are also outnumbered by males in the ranks of science and engineer- ing professions and among ICT professionals. But women have overtaken males in the teaching and health professions, where only 32% of teachers are males. The legal profession is more balanced, with women accounting for 43% of lawyers. And in the bottom ranks of the labour market, women account for 73% of cleaners and helpers but only for 9% refuse collectors and elementary workers. The factory girl is also a dying breed: women now account for only 26% of machine operators. The census data corroborates income tax statistics showing that only 367 women, compared to 1,650 men, declare an income higher than €50,000 in Malta. Nearly half of the €50,001-plus tax declarations are compiled by households who opt for a joint declaration of income, which suggests that these households have a single or main breadwinner that is traditionally associated with a male figure. Males also predominate among those earning between €40,001 and €50,000. In fact men constitute 77.4% of those within this income bracket who are either single or file separate computations despite being married. The census also shows that while 61% males aged 15 and over are gainfully employed, 42% of females were taking care of the house or family. The percentage of gainfully occupied females stood at 36.2 per cent. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt WHILE 56% of non-Maltese resi- dents living in Malta do not speak any Maltese only 4% do not speak any English. The census report indicates that only a small minority of foreign resi- dents take any interest in learning the Maltese language. In fact only 10% know the Maltese language well, while 5% have an av- erage knowledge of Maltese. 29% of non-Maltese residents only know to speak a little Maltese. On the other hand 87% of non-Mal- tese residents have a good or average command of the English language. Arabic emerges as the third most well spoken language among foreign- ers in Malta closely followed by Ital- ian, German and French although 10% of foreign residents speak Maltese well Percentage of non-Maltese population over 10 years of age who speak language well Maltese 9.6 English 75.2 Arabic 8.8 Italian 8.6 German 7.7 French 7.6 Percentage of Maltese population over 10 years old who speak language well: Well Well & average Maltese 97.6 95.7 English 65.3 78.2 Italian 25.6 18.9 French 2.9 4.6 German 0.7 1.3 Arabic 0.6 0.8 30% OF SWIEQI'S POPULATION HAS BEEN TO UNIVERSITY: ONLY 3% OF MARSA HAS HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE Highest illiteracy (10-19 years of age) % Valletta 5.5 Marsa 3.2 Santa Lucija 2.4 Bormla 2.2 Senglea 2 Highest illiteracy (20-29) (%) Cospicua 4.9 Floriana 4.4 Birzebbugia 3.7 Marsa 3.2 Poala 3.1 Highest illiteracy (general population) (%) Marsa 16.3 Bormla 14 Valletta 12.4 Luqa 12.3 Qormi 11.1 Lowest illiteracy rates Swieqi 1.3 Pembroke 2.2 Sliema 2.5 Balzan 3 Iklin 3.1 Who has the most university-educated people? (%) Highest Lowest Mdina 31.1 Marsa 3.4 Swieqi 29.8 Bormla 3.9 Balzan 27.1 Senglea 4.1 Attard 27 Hamrun 6.9 Sliema 24.5 Q ormi 7.1 St Julian's 23.9 The census also confirms the link between affluence and educational achievements, with the highest levels of tertiary education registered in Malta's most affluent towns