The drive of the ministry involved, and the millions of liri invested in our educational system in the past years, have resulted in improvements which we hardly even dared to dream about a few years ago.
The student population has exploded at our University and thousands of students are attending specialised courses at MCAST. Our schools have been modernised and equipped in such a way as to facilitate the intellectual development of our children who face a future packed with opportunities.
Those who are willing and capable of succeeding have all the necessary tools to do so.
More, however, needs to be done to see to the needs of those children who do not excel when it comes to conventional learning. It is heartbreaking to see the frustration of a number of youths who are processed by our educational system only to end up with no certificates to show for their efforts when they reach school leaving age. Were it not for the excellent courses being offered by the ETC many of them would end up being unemployable. But the feeling of worthlessness felt by such children often results in psychological problems or worse.
We must accept the fact that a percentage of our students will never be able to cope with the number of subjects they are expected to deal with in secondary school. They should be encouraged to focus on the core subjects: Maths, English, Maltese and IT and perhaps guided towards involvement in something they can do well in, sports for instance. That way, not only will they be acquiring the basic tools necessary for advancement in later life but they are allowed to build up a sense of self-esteem. This can only be done with the full co-operation and understanding of the children involved and their parents.
It is disappointing to see a number of schools not giving sports the importance it deserves in their curricula. The benefits of participation in physical activities are well known and can only be appreciated and accepted if a love for sports is instilled at a very young age.
Sending exam results by SMS is an innovative, convenient and efficient way of keeping students informed about their progress. I have, however, personally encountered a number of students who were given a positive result by SMS only to have their celebratory mood quashed on receiving the actual certificate. This is grossly unfair and more attention should be paid to accuracy.

I fail to understand those amongst us who try to denigrate the importance of the English language. They do this as a misguided expression of patriotic fervour in favour of our mother tongue. Maltese is a unique feature of our culture and everything possible should be done to promote its proper and widespread use. English is, however, the lingua franca of today’s world and our children will never be able to succeed in life unless they can use it fluently. More can be done to ensure that this is so, not only by our schools but also by our local television stations. The best way to learn a language is to hear it spoken and the most convenient way of ensuring that our children are exposed to English is by encouraging the transmission of good quality, enjoyable programmes for children at the appropriate time of the day.

Were it not so worrying it would be humorous. There are those who are afraid that proper sex education automatically leads to promiscuity in teenagers. There are those who are quick to condemn efforts at guidance as regards the spread of STDs and birth control.
The best way to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies is abstention. This is the ideal which younger teenagers should be aiming for. But, let’s face it; we don’t live in an ideal world. A number of them will engage in sexual activity whether we like it or not, and we should ensure that they do so armed with the necessary information.

More should be done to promote good manners amongst our children. This may sound old fashioned but, as they say, good manners cost nothing and they should act as the guidelines by which we can relate to one another in a courteous and considerate way. It’s amazing how simple things such as a “sorry” when appropriate can translate into a more harmonious way of life.

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