Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702141
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JULY 2016 12 News The Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change notifies all interested bidders that the following quotation has been published: Services of an Outside Caterer to participate in the International Green Week (Berlin) 2017 on behalf of MSDEC Closing date for submission of quotations: 19 th July 2016 at 10am Quotation documents are free of charge and are to be viewed/downloaded and submitted ONLY through the e-tenders website on http://etenders.gov.mt At home with the teacher Those who support homeschooling may take heart from the plethora of EU member states where the system is legal MARTINA BORG OFFICIAL statistics for home- schooling and the educational ben- efits of home-schooling are hard to come by, but a debate on its le- galisation in Malta has switched on a search to better understand the merits of home-education. Among the proposals in the newly unveiled Education Act, perhaps the most controversial, or at least con- ducive to discussion, is the proposal to legalise homeschooling: parents and educators alike are at opposite ends of the proposal, some saying it is for those unsatisfied with the edu- cation system, others arguing that it's an elitist option that will stymie children's socialisation avenues. Homeschooling is largely accept- ed throughout the US, although with varying regulations and re- quirements it remains something of a bone of contention in Europe. Ho- meschooling remains illegal in 20 of 42 countries in Europe, including Germany and Malta among others. Although statistics analysing the academic performance of home- schooled children not readily avail- able in Europe, it's interesting to note that the number of those opt- ing for such systems seems to be on the rise. A 2011 report on Oxbridge Essays Blog, the number of homeschooled children in the United Kingdom was placed at somewhere between 50,000 and 80,000. Numbers in the United States on the other hand, are even more stunning, with around 2.3 million children under the sys- tem, according to the National Home Education Research Insti- tute. However vague the academic re- sults may be in Europe, numerous studies have been carried out in the US. One particular study, entitled the 'Academic achievement and demographic traits of home-school students: a nationwide study' pub- lished on the Academic journal, suggests that home-schooling ulti- mately delivers better results, with students in home-schooling achiev- ing average scores of around 85% compared to public school students' 50% average in standardized tests. One of the easiest ways to explain this is the individual attention that homeschooling provides, with methods tailored specifically for those learning and no time wasted on 'crowd control'. But studies cannot hope to shed light on the effects of the socialisa- tion skills obtained by the children in question: as some critics argue, a failure to integrate children with all members of society can ultimately lead to social exclusion and outright elitism – the objective of education should not merely be good grades, but also finding ways to live within complex society. Indeed as Carmel Borg, associ- ate professor at the University of Malta's faculty of education says, homeschooling is hailed by libertar- ians as "the ultimate in free market provision." "Under the pretext of philosophi- cal incompatibility, mostly privi- leged and/or disenchanted parents can opt out of the system," Borg said, adding that many times, such parents, acting alone or as a move- ment, are in direct confrontation with the state. "Whatever the case, save for chronic illnesses or other condi- tions, the decision to home-school one's children is never ideologically neutral," he added. Borg also says that locally, with an official dogma in favour of inclusion and social justice in education, it remains to be seen who the lobby- ists behind this decision – now fully embraced by minister Evarist Bar- tolo – are. "Although there are studies that indicate that children have benefit- ed from homeschooling, it is diffi- cult to isolate home-schooling from other variables that might impact the child's educational well-being, such as parents' cultural, social and economic capital," Prof. Borg says. ILLEGAL Status Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Illegal, public education is mandatory without known exceptions. Bulgaria Illegal, public education is mandatory. Only children with special needs may be homeschooled under strict government control. Germany Illegal, public or approved private education is mandatory with the only exception being where continued school attendance would create undue hardship for an individual child. Sweden Illegal, as of June 2010; supposedly allowed under special circumstances such as student health reasons or family travel, but virtually never approved. Spain Unknown, as Constitution recognises freedom of education, but national education law stipulates that compulsory education must be met through school attendance. LEGAL Status Statistics Austria Legal under restrictive conditions, as long as the instruction is at least equal to that of the state school. 2100 Belgium, Italy Legal under restrictive conditions, homeschooling is a constitutional right 500 Czech Republic Legal under restrictive conditions by temporary experimental law for children aged 5-12. Law currently under negotiation with homeschoolers. 500 families Denmark Legal as alternative to mandatory public school system 1% of students Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Poland Legal under control of school. Every homeschooled child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. Homeschooled children receive diploma from supervising school. approx. 1,000 France, United Kingdom Legal as alternative to the mandatory public school system. Inspections mandatory every year. 5,063, over 20,000 in the UK Hungary Every homeschooled child must be supervised by an authorized school and pass annual exams. Homeschooled children receive diplomas from supervising school. 400 Iceland, Ireland Legal only for holders of teaching certificates, in other cases public education is mandatory. Over 14,000 Luxembourg Legal, for primary school age. Unknown Norway, Ukraine Legal 400+ Portugal Legal. Children living longer than 4 months in Portugal must attend school by law. Home education under Portuguese national curriculum only. Mandatory annual exams in Portuguese. Unknown Romania Legal under restrictive conditions. Children with disabilities, special needs or whose condition does not allow them to be physically present in a school may be home-schooled, under the supervision of an accredited teacher. Unknown Russia Legal since 1992, law sometimes ignored and not made legal. Unknown Slovakia Legal, under restrictive conditions. 50 Switzerland Legal in about three quarters of the cantons, with many being restrictive to very restrictive. 200-500 children