Education

I believe that Education is the building block for any active and democratic society. One of the European Union's priorities is to foster and create a knowledge-based society through proper education for all its citizens. With this in mind, I will strive to:

• Ensure that all education, from primary to higher education, will be accessible to all irrespective of age, socio-economic background, or disability.
• Push for increased education related mobility, for students, teachers and lecturers alike
• Work to establish the best Quality Assurance mechanisms, both on a national and European level, for all levels of Education.
• Continue to remove all barriers to life long learning and increase incentives in this regard.
• Encourage a European system of recognition of informal and non-formal education as an integral part of a holistic education

Dig Deeper

The European Union has recognized the importance of education in reaching its target of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based society in the world. The Lisbon Agenda is based on the premise that education must play a fundamental role in the economic and social progress of Member States.
While acknowledging that more needs to be done, Malta has made some massive steps forward in the Education sector:

- the establishment of MCAST, gave due importance and recognition to vocational education; - strengthening of the students maintenance grant; the introduction of the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme, (through which students abroad or in foreign private institutions in Malta can now apply for funding),
- building new schools and increasing investment in education across the board.
- The 11+ reform finally giving a better chance for all our children to be able to continue their education - to name a few
Furthermore the government is committed to further reducing the amount of school leavers and tackling illiteracy rates – targets that I will do my utmost to help achieve.

In terms of higher and further education, the European Commission has embarked on a mission to moderize universities across Europe, increase mobility amongst students, lecturers and non-academic staff by launching various mobility programmes including the Erasmus Programme which allows Maltese students to spend a period of their university studies abroad.

The European Parliament also recently adopted a report (Doris Pack Report on the Bologna Process and student mobility) in which the benefits of student and staff mobility are clearly outlined as is the EP's commitment to remove remaining barriers. I am committed to working hand in hand with Maltese stakeholders in education in order to further promote these benefits to Maltese students and lecturers while, at the same time, using the European Parliament's network to increase the contacts that Malta has with other foreign universities in order to further build upon our successes in this area.

One hugely significant European Commission initiative has been the creation of the European Qualification Framework which aims to enable qualifications systems at the national and sector levels to easily relate to each other. This reference structure will facilitate the transfer and recognition of qualifications held by individual citizens. This policy initiative has been endorsed by the Government and a Maltese national qualifications framework has been set up. I strongly believe that the removal of barriers concerning the recognition of qualifications is an essential element in guaranteeing the proper implementation of the principle of free movement of persons.
Learning is not something that is limited by age – it is only limited by our will to persevere. This belief - enshrined in the Lisbon Agenda- should lead to a large amount of adults participating in lifelong learning in the coming years. This would in turn allow individuals to fulfil their personal potential and to increase the competitiveness of the European work force. In order to reach these the Lisbon targets, I believe that we have to give this policy issue the impetus and dedication it deserves. We have to highlight the key competences we expect out of adult learning in order to make sure that they help our citizens adapt to an evolving European labour market. We also have to reduce barriers to adult learning, through international and national strategies, so that such programmes will be accessible for the majority of the population.

There is little doubt that without adequate support, young students with families - in particular young mothers - are less likely to continue their education which inevitably leads to inequalities in their working lives. We must strive to make sure that everyone is allowed to achieve their true potential and I will push for students who have family responsibilities to have the conditions in which to be able to further their educational and career ambitions.
I know that education is more than what is taught and learnt in the classroom or lecture halls. Formal learning is of course an important factor of our development but likewise informal learning, the actual process of learning by doing, is equally important. Laudably the government has already started the process of recognising these modes of learning as an integral part of academic education and lifelong learning. But more can be done especially in terms of promoting internships, a spirit of entrepreneurship and voluntary positions. More too needs to be done to strengthen the link between industry and education which will translate into more graduates finding a job that satisfies their expectations and aspirations.