Tackling early school leaving

Early school leaving is a problem. Tackling early school leaving is first and foremost an investment in the future. The importance of the launching of the strategic plan for the prevention of early school leaving in Malta cannot be stressed often enough.

ESL is a very specific term but primarily, we have to address the issues of those youngsters, between the ages of 18 and 24, who have left compulsory schooling with only a lower secondary level of education and who are not in education, training and apprenticeships.

Malta has a relatively high rate of ESL and is presently second highest in the EU after Spain. The problems associated with ESL are pan-European but since member states have a particular tradition in measuring educational attainment, it is sometimes difficult to compare ESL rates across the EU.

Early school leaving is the result of a mix of individual, educational and socio-economic factors. These features differ from one country to another and according to the region. In Malta ESL is defined as those young people aged 18 to 24 who do not possess a minimum of five SEC passes at grades 1 to 7 and who are not enrolled in any kind of training or educational programme.

The European Commission has conducted an analysis of the causes and consequences of early school leaving. In order to reduce the dropout rate in the EU, it is recommending measures that will have long-lasting effects.

The Commission has set itself a number of targets for the year 2020. In 2009, more than six million young people from 18 to 24 years old, i.e. 14.4%, left the education system early.

Reducing the school dropout rate in the European Union to less than 10% and increasing the rate of tertiary qualifications to 40% is one of the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy.

In Malta, we have committed ourselves to achieving a very ambitious target, that of reducing the rate of ESL to 10% by 2020. Over the last few years, we have come a long way, reducing this rate from 28% in 2009 to 20.9% in 2013.

The EU has recognised the fact that we have managed to lower this rate but we want to half this rate in the next six years. The strategy document was published in 2012 and officially launched in April 2013. Consultation meetings and a conference were held in May that same year.

After receiving feedback from a number of stakeholders, the final document, which includes a number of strategic actions for implementation, was launched earlier this month.

A special unit is being set up within the Ministry for Education and Employment to monitor the implementation of this strategic plan. An inter-ministerial committee and a working group will coordinate the necessary actions, together with different stakeholders from the public and private sector, NGOs and civil society.

Vocational education training (VET) is not the only solution in combating ESL, but it will surely contribute. VET has been reintroduced in secondary education and is, within mainstream secondary schools, part of the optional subjects. Completion of the school curriculum is beneficial, both from an economic and a social point of view. It produces qualified workers who drive growth and innovation.

Early school leaving is the result of a mix of individual, educational and socio-economic factors. Young people who leave school early are at a higher risk of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. They are often in more precarious and less well-paid jobs than those with training.

A reduction in the rate of early school leavers will have a positive effect on employability and help fight social exclusion. This strategy will contribute towards lifting people out of poverty.

Above all, it will help in enabling more people to fulfill themselves at personal, social, emotional and intellectual levels and in short, will help people become better human beings.

The Strategic Plan for the prevention of early school leaving in Malta and Gozo will aim to prevent ESL by seeking to avoid the conditions that lead to early school leaving; to intervene by addressing the difficulties encountered by pupils as soon as they arise and to compensate by offering opportunities for education and training to those who have dropped out.