Planning higher education in Malta : economic aspects

Abstract

Until recently, the policy for higher education in Malta was based on the principle that education is an end in itself. The economic aspects of education were almost entirely neglected. The primary concern of government was to ensure that enough funds were forth coming to meet the proposed expenditure on education without really considering the economic repercussions. Since the introduction of the five-year development plans in Malta, more attention has been given to education as a prerequisite for general economic growth. The quest for development has given rise to a growing interest in educational planning and higher education itself began to be regarded as an essential item in the overall economic plan. In the third five-year plan for the Maltese Islands revised in October 1970, it was stated that "a principal objective must be to integrate the form and content of education more closely with economic development". This explicit statement by the planners shows clearly the extent to which education in general is now being considered as part and parcel of the concept of national planning. In spite of this, no remarkable attempts have been made to integrate higher education with the requirements of the Maltese economy. One cannot deny that some attempts have been and are being made to expand facilities at the University, at the Polytechnic and at the Colleges of Education. But no true endeavour has been made to formulate a higher educational plan based on the targets set forth in the overall development plan.