For a long time now, many English-speaking Maltese students have faced an insurmountable obstacle in their attempts to enrol at University – a Maltese O-level is an absolute requirement for all Maltese students, no matter the course.

Barred from entry from their national university, these students have been forced to either enrol at other local or foreign educational institutions or scrap plans for tertiary education altogether. 

This could all be set to change soon. 

The Education Ministry has started testing the waters with a proposal that will allow English-speaking Maltese students to opt for a Maltese language course catered to their knowledge of the language. This course will lead up to a different exam than the O-level, but which will allow students to enter University, unless of course they intend to enrol in a degree (such as Maltese) which specifically requires a Maltese O-level.

The proposal is still at preliminary consultation stage and a lot of points, such as the curriculum of this second Maltese course, are still very much in the air. Informed sources have told Lovin Malta that the availability of this second course could also herald the requirement of Maltese for entry into MCAST and ITS. 

“The discussion will not in any way attempt to change the current Maltese course, but rather offer new learning routes that will allow the Maltese language to be used by more people – Maltese and foreigners alike,” the Education Ministry said in a statement. “There has long been a need to update the teaching and assessment of the Maltese language so as to reflect the country’s socio-cultural and linguistic realities. There are Maltese and foreign students whose mother tongue isn’t Maltese, as well as vocationally-inclined Maltese-speaking students who cannot cope with the academic nature of the current exams.”

“We need to ensure that the Maltese language remains important and relevant to all our children youths, regardless of their mother tongue. Maltese is one of four languages across the EU which are at risk of weakening in this digital age, and each and every one of us has a duty to strengthen and broaden the use of the language.”  

What do you make of this new proposal? 

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]