ADPD calls for inclusive, community-based education reform<\/p>\n
The ADPD has proposed a wide-ranging reform of Malta’s education system, arguing that schools should prioritise inclusion, community values and critical thinking rather than competition and excessive centralisation.<\/p>\n
During a press conference, ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said schools should become “the cradle of a sense of community” at a time when individualism and competitiveness are increasingly dominating society. She stressed the need for educational spaces that embrace multiculturalism, diversity and cooperation.<\/p>\n
Gauci said educators should be given greater trust and autonomy, criticising a system that she described as overly dependent on top-down decision-making. ADPD is proposing more subsidiarity in education, allowing schools and educators to play a greater role in shaping policy and practice.<\/p>\n
The party also linked education reform to the promotion of critical thinking, calling for the immediate removal of regulations requiring teachers to seek permission before speaking publicly on education matters. Gauci described the rule as a “colonial-era gag”.<\/p>\n
ADPD candidate Mario Mallia outlined further proposals, including smaller schools, longer lessons with less fragmented timetables, and a curriculum focused more on cooperation, inquiry-based learning and media literacy.<\/p>\n
The party is also proposing discussions on raising the compulsory school age from 16 to 18, removing SEC examinations at 16, and reforming assessment systems to reduce student stress.<\/p>\n
Other proposals include giving greater importance to arts, humanities and political education alongside STEM subjects, creating more inclusive religious education spaces, and developing policies to better respond to multicultural realities in schools.<\/p>\n
ADPD also called for stronger recognition of learning support educators, improved childcare quality, and better conditions for early childhood educators. The party stressed that all children, regardless of their parents’ legal status, should have unconditional access to education.<\/p>\n