34% of students fail all O-level exams, don’t bother applying

 A total of 459 fifth form students have failed to sign up for O-level exams, according to Education Minister Evarist Bartolo.

But capturing the picture of how the youth were falling out of the education system, Bartolo said that, out of a total of 2,893 state school students who signed up for O-levels, a third of them failed to turn up.

Moreover, 34% of students, not only didn't bother applying but those who did failed to even pass from one exam.

Addressing parliament, Bartolo said that the ministry, together with MCAST, ETC, the private sector, Agenzija Zghazagh, ITS and the directorate for education, has embarked on a project to see what alternative programme could be offered to these students.

"We have an unacceptable rate [6,000] of youths aged between 16 and 24 who are neither in education, work or training. And a percentage of these are persons with disability. It is also unacceptable that some of these are already long-term unemployed who have adopted a culture resting on social benefits," he said.

The minister also said the University of Malta had the responsibility - together with all the faculties and the Senate - to help in ensuring that proper education was given at all stages, starting from early learning, primary and secondary education.

55% of students fail to achieve the necessary six O-levels required to join the Sixth Form.

"I expect the University to shoulder its responsibility and carry its duty. It must join forces with us. Because the issue is not about spending money but how that money is being used to see that our youth are succeeding," Bartolo insisted.

He said, it would be very easy for him to flaunt the record number of students who have joined MCAST this year - over 6,000.

"But what would I achieve? Nothing. And I categorically refuse to flaunt these figures when we should be looking at eliminating the high drop-out rates."

By way of example, Bartolo said MCAST's foundation course - divided in three levels - had a 14% drop-out rate at the third level.

The minister also questioned how the University could compete with foreign universities when universities across the EU where increasing their tuition fees, pushing EU students to study in Malta.

Being EU citizens, these students do not pay to study in Malta.

Turning to work, the minister said that 7% of every 100 workers were foreigners. Between 2004 and 2012, 33,000 new jobs were created, 10,000 of which were occupied by foreigners. 4,000 of these were high-skilled jobs and, according to Bartolo, the places were taken up by foreigners because there weren't Maltese skilled enough to cover the job.

On the other hand, there were 6,000 foreigners who were employed in low-skilled jobs, "because the Maltese, for one reason or another, do not want to do these jobs".

The minister insisted that something had to be done to address the issue, even ensuring ties between education, training and employment.

In his opening remarks, the minister said that work and education were about the country's future that necessitated collaboration and cooperation. This, he said, required patience and a sense of urgency.

Yet, he said, the general practice was for everyone to work independently each of other finding it hard to extend the hand of cooperation.

The minister said a budget evaluation should not be about figures but about what those figures are achieving.

"We must ensure that the money allocated for the 32 measures for education and work is spent well," he said, adding that all decisions will be taken in consultation with all stakeholders.

Bartolo said the government was committed in ensuring that the prices of school uniforms are reduced.

He said that he wanted childcare centres to provide the best possible service to children, especially since the tender ages were the most crucial for the development of a child.

"These centres will surely not serve as parking lots while their parents go to work. But, they will serve as a stimulus for the child's development," he said.

Bartolo said that "everyone" would benefit from the free childcare service and if there were parents who wanted to keep their children in private care, they could still do so.

However, the Opposition's criticism was that stay-at-home parents would not benefit from the service.