Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698136072812.pdf (Malta)
IT-TLETTAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L.

5647 Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 390 tal-4 ta’ Novembru 2020 mill-Ministru għall-Edukazzjoni u x- Xogħol.
___________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra FRAMEWORK FOR THE EDUCATION STRATEGY FOR MALTA 2014-2024: SUSTAINING FOUNDATIONS, CREATING ALTERNATIVES, INCREASING EMPLOYABILITY ~ I W: MINISTRY FOR EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT THE CURRENT CONTEXT, OUR BELIEFS AND VALUES The Mimstry for Education and Employment is committed to consolidate and build on the successes achieved in education and employment in the past, and recognises the challenges of an ever evolvmg and competitive world.
While ensuring the promotion of our identity through the mastery of the Maltese language, to be able to navigate successfully 1n the world at large we need to be fiuent and proficient in English.

the global language.

We would also like our young people to be competent 1n other languages that have global outreach.

The Ministry positions itself at the forefront to prov1de present and future generations with the necessary skills and talents for employability and c1t1zensh1p in the 21st century.
In close collaboration between the educational, econom1c sectors and c1vil society, the Ministry IS facilitating a consultation process about an updated educational plan for our Nation.

This consultation process will form the basis for the process of improvement from 2014 to 2024 during which time our students develop the1r personal and soc1al potential and acquire the appropriate knowledge.
key skills, competences and attitudes through a value-onented formation including equity, social justice, diversity, and inclus1vity.

• The Ministry is proposing a coherent strategy for lifelong learning opportunities from early childhood education and care to adult learning to ensure that all children, young people and adults have the opportunity to obta1n the necessary sk1lls and attitudes to be active citizens and to succeed at work and in society.
This should not be h1ndered by differences in socio-economic.

cultural, racial, ethnic, religious, gender and sexual status.

While acknowledging that out-of-school factors like poverty and soc1al exclusion affect student achievement.

the Ministry seeks to improve students' learning experiences by encouraging creativity, critical literacy, entrepreneurship and innovation at all levels.
This framework for the Education Strategy for Malta 2014-2024 has four broad goals in line with European and world benchmarks: In today's globalised world, the pace of educational change is not determined only at a national level.
If we do not keep up with what is happening in the rest of the world, we will be putting our nation at nsk and the future of our people will be jeopardised if we allow other nations to overtake us and 1f we do not catch up with other nations who are ahead of us because of the skills and talents of their people.

The development of Malta's education strategy would evolve around our collective knowledge of best practices and polic1es within the European region and beyond.
Malta's strategic objectives can be developed, but not limited to.

the seven strategic pillars in Table 1, that are derived from European policy and international initiatives 1n the education sector.

3 / TABLE 1.
STRATEGIC PILLARS FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT Governance of Education Organisations Quality of Education Provision • Guarantee of long term financ1ng · Sustainabllity of funding • Governance structure that enables modernisation and Innovation · Support for the development of administrative processes Transparency tools for governance, management and adm1mstrat1on Social Dimension · Equal opportunities in education · Employability and relevance of education · lifelong learning · Skills assessment in view of society and industry · Open access to information on educational tracks and qualification opportunitieS International Dimension Intensive strategy for the teaching of English across all social sectors · International mobility of students and staff · International openness to new systems and processes · Harmonisation of qualification frameworks to European structures Harmonisation of assessment and examination methods International recognition of local qualifications · Quality assurance of education programs · Quality through people programs: continuous development of education providers Student Focus · Different learnmg tracks and student centred learning · Student support through counselling, guidance, mentoring and tracking systems Modernisation and automation of student processes Strategic Innovation · Managing the interaction of the Quadruple Helix: Education, Society, Industry and the Public Sector · Training for educators on new teaching and learning methods · Feedback programs for students, educators and stakeholders · Realignment and development of strategiC objectives based on international development in education and feedback from stakeholders Performance Dashboards • Data collection and reporting · Measurement of achievements and gaps in the context of European targets 4 One of the main objectives of this Strategy is to improve the quality and effectiveness of our country and to develop a society which is competent, resourceful, critically conscious, and competitive in a global economy driven by information, knowledge and innovation.
Other objectives include the provision of a relevant curriculum built on a learning outcomes approach, a variety of learning experiences and qualifications anchored to the Malta Qualifications Framework, different tracks and opportunities to increase relevance of learning to the labour market, preparation for highly skilled jobs through post-secondary education while ensuring that every learner becomes an active member of a democratic society.
In the next ten years, the Ministry will carefully update the existing learning programmes and modes of assessment in both general and vocational and training education.

It will continue to support the modernisation of our vocational system, particularly in mainstream education, as well as support apprenticeship, traineeship, work-based and work-placed learning initiatives, in the context of lifelong learning.

Experiential and work-based learning will be accredited and certified.
We will also ensure that our National Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning continues to act as catalyst for quality assurance, accreditation and transparency of all learning experiences including the validation of informal and non-formal learning and forms of apprenticeships.

We will strive to have a certification system (at all levels) that adds value to employability, mobility and higher standards of transparency.
There is no way our country can prosper and succeed as a democratic and just society if we retain the current high levels of children w1th low literacy, numeracy, science and digital skills, the low level of children who master higher-order thinking skills, and the current drop-out rates.

Our children 5 Strategies for education reform need to be flexible, ongoing, inclusive and embrace a long-term and sustainable vision that is democratic nationwide.
The proposed Strategy aims to cultivate student engagement and motivation, and to promote high aspirations in learning within an inclusive, safe and orderly enwonment both physical and psychological.

Furthermore, it will enhance the teaching profession by providing teachers with the relevant continuous professional development, the right support and conditions to maximize their teaching skills.

This course of action charts a new way forward.


an improvement and innovation of class, school and college leadership and management, and In curriculum planning and development.

This Strategy will seek to build more effect1ve synergies between education, the economy and civil society and between the educational resources in Malta and those at European level.
Together, we want to address specific needs through the active participation of educators, parents and social partners including employers, umons, Local Councils, non-governmental organisations.

Other key players such as the Faculty of Education, the teachers' union, the professional bodies which act as catalysts for change, will also be actively engaged in this process.

need to be prepared for present and future jobs, and obtain more transferable skills to avoid skill obsolescence.
It is estimated that by 2020, nearly 36% of all jobs 1n the European Union will requ1re high skills, the ability to be innovative, and to adapt to new contexts.

The biggest constraint on our economic growth and prosperity is our inability to equitably provide alternative learning tracks that are relevant and of high quality.

Job creation remains a formidable challenge.


But lifelong learning is what education and employment can provide to our citizens in different educational contexts including places of work.

Ensunng that our young people acquire the necessary skills and strong work ethic to enable them to take up the jobs created is also a formidable task.
At the moment half of our jobs are being taken up by people coming from overseas, either because our people lack the nght skills or because they refuse to work in the jobs available.

Welcoming talented persons from overseas to work in our economy is fully compatible with having a local workforce with the right skills and a healthy work ethic.
CHARTING OUR COURSE OF ACTION The Ministry for Education and Employment recognises that current participation at Kindergarten level is very encouraging and above EU average but this must go beyond numbers and ensure that a stimulating and rich learning expenence for children to have a sure start in life.

It acknowledges the challenges we face 1n Increasing current participation and quality education in early childhood education and care.
The proposed Strategy will also aim to increase the number of our 1 Q-year olds who reach Intermediate and Advanced International Benchmarks in reading, mathematics, IT, and science and technology.

Additionally, the Strategy will aim to decrease drastically the number of our low-achievers 1n these four areas among our 15-year olds and decrease the early schoolleavers' rate and dropouts, particularly in initial vocational training.
It is unacceptable that half of our fifth formers are leaving secondary school without the skills and qualifications expected of them after at least 12 years of schooling.

We need to link much bener the two worlds of education and employment to ensure the relevance of MCAST and the University of Malta to sustain the current employment rate of our graduates (20-34 years), and also improve the skill base of our 25 to 64 year olds.
6 I ON TARGET THROUGH NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT In order to achieve what we consider as realistic and ambitious targets, the Ministry for Education and Employment will consult all stakeholders on the plan of education for 2014-2024.

The input of these discussions will be reflected in a strategic document which will outline the plan for the next 10 years, starting from early childhood education and care to adult learning, vocational and tertiary education and encompassing formal, informal and non-formal learning.
The successful implementation of the Strategy from 2014 to 2024 will rely heavily on the active engagement of all stakeholders throughout the process.

While we seek home-grown solutions to address our challenges we are ready to learn from others in Europe, from European process such as the Bologna and the Copenhagen Processes and beyond, but knowing full well that we cannot simply import solutions from abroad without adapting and adopting them to our reality.
All government entities and partners in education are invited to engage in a constructive dialogue on the challenges and the opportunities that education face in the coming decade, to draw up a strategy that will result in economic growth, prosperity and a better quality of life for all the people living on the islands of Malta and Gozo.