Malta is spending big on education but results are still disappointing, a new EU report has found.

The 2018 edition of the European Commission’s Education and Training Monitor, published on Tuesday, found that while government spending on education, as a proportion of GDP, is well above the EU average, “the performance of Maltese students in international assessments remains poor”.

Malta was ranked as the ninth highest spender on education (per capita) among the EU 28.

The country’s education bill amounted to 5.4% of GDP in 2016, making up 14% of total public spending. The EU average was 4.7% and 10.2% respectively. Spending is set to increase as the government pledged more funding for higher teachers’ wages and continuous professional development programmes for this year.

Still, the report found that the proportion of low achievers in science, reading and mathematics among Maltese 15-year-olds was significantly higher than the EU average.

The international reading study put Malta in 40th place out of 50 participating countries in terms of overall performance. This, the report noted, was well below the international average.

The performance of Maltese students in international assessments remains poor

The report also highlighted disparities linked to students’ socioeconomic background and type of schooling.

Students attending Church schools performed better than those in State schools, who, in turn, did better than independent school students. The report noted that a comparison was complicated as the test language was Maltese whereas in 2011, when the previous tests were carried out, it had been in English.

The report refers to a new initiative to promote reading skills, saying the National Literacy Agency would this year launch a new programme together with the University College London to train educators as reading recovery teachers, who would support students in literacy.

It was noted that Malta’s workforce remained relatively low qualified, despite employment rates above the EU average at all qualification levels.

Eurostat forecasts a 15.9% increase in school-aged children between now and 2050. This, the report pointed out, was mainly due to migration flows, with potential implications for the education system.

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