The Nationalist Party is proposing a major revision to the national curriculum to help address Malta’s worrying education crisis, PN Leader Bernard Grech has pledged. 

Writing in an opinion piece in Malta Today, Grech said that it was crucial that the focus shifts from memorising large amounts of information to acquiring critical thinking skills – with languages and humanities subjects also being given more priority to reflect a more holistic educational experience.

“For too long have we taken for granted the teaching of English and Maltese as first languages, when for many of our students this isn’t the case for either one of the languages or both of them,” he said.

Educators, Grech said, should also be paid wages that reflect the responsibility of the position, which currently faces a serious shortage. 

Lovin Malta has reported extensively on the education crisis in the country, which currently performs poorly key indicators like reading, maths, and science despite having one of the largest investments per capita in the entire EU. 

The country also has one of the highest rates of early school leavers, even though the state provides free education all the way up to university. 

The reasons behind the crisis are vast, however, many point fingers at a rigid syllabus and curriculum that fails to foster long term learning and retention among its students.

Changes to the syllabus structure are starting to be introduced, but many within the sector believe that the new system is miles off from addressing the serious shortcomings. 

Grech also called on constituted bodies and social partners to establish a programme to forecast skills shortages, something that has already been proposed in the government’s employment policy. 

However, he also stressed that investment in education would remain a priority of the PN. 

He said that the government continues to inflict “untold harm” onto the labour market, by still employing an aggressive ‘positions of trust’ system which sees hundreds if not thousands employed without any application process. 

“By competing for people so brazenly with the private sector, government is reducing the country’s productivity, piling up unprecedented deficit and reducing the taxable income from industry,” Grech said.

This means government is having to finance its public employment spree by imposing on each and every one of us massive debt which will result in higher market interest rates for the private sector, making Malta even less competitive for business to thrive.”

Grech emphasised that the country is currently facing employer fatigue due to a lack of skilled talent, with many choosing to leave the country, as reflected in a recent EY survey. The PN leader stressed that solving the education crisis is crucial to addressing employment concerns.

Does Malta’s education system need major reform?