No O-levels? Never mind. Joseph will find work for you.

Published: June 17, 2012 at 11:49pm

timesofmalta.com reports on the Labour leader’s speech today:

Labour leader Joseph Muscat this morning expressed concern over the fact that 450 Form V students opted not to sit for a single ‘O’ level exam this year.

Speaking at a political conference in Birkirkara, Dr Muscat said that these were 450 cries for help.

Four hundred and fifty cries for help? I don’t think so. They might well be 450 school-leavers who’ve heard him say that his government will guarantee work for all, including school-leavers who haven’t got any qualifications.




21 Comments Comment

  1. Harry Purdie says:

    The little (now worryingly plump) clueless twerp just keeps digging.

    • ciccio says:

      Joseph Muscat has adopted a “European guarantee” – like that available with electronic goods and electrical appliances.

  2. Angus Black says:

    Instead of promoting excellence, the Labour Party remains anchored in its mediocrity of the 70s and 80s.

    Instead of elevating the standards expected of present and future graduates, it prefers to lower standards to match theirs.
    So far what we can extract from Joseph:

    Lower electricity tariffs – but will not reveal what taxes he will hike.

    Everything points to removing/reducing or switching students’ stipends into loans. A disincentive for high school graduated to seek tertiary education.
    Sixteen year old school leavers will earn what the GWU considers to be ‘precarious wages’, but will remain silent as long as these proposals come from Joseph.

    The 450 will surely vote Labour because that is what Labour is all about – partit ta l-iddubbar, partit ta tbazwir, partit fejn kollox jaghddi – mhux xorta?

    If it wasn’t so tragic, it would be simply comical.

    • Marcus says:

      Hopefully those 450 are not eligible to vote. But by the way he wants to lower the age at which to be eligible to vote to 16yrs eventually, probably to benefit from such a vague and absurd electoral promise.

  3. minn mars says:

    All they need to do is repeat the class instead of repeating it in their first school years.

  4. ciccio says:

    The guarantee proposed by the PES may have some logic in those EU countries where the markets are not creating jobs for young people.

    But in Malta’s case, where the market is working, the interference in the market with such schemes would only create new problems.

  5. John Schembri says:

    Muscat’s speech yesterday was for once straightforward on a subject which put him in a bad light with a section of the electorate.

    Probably because of his visit to Dubai he expressed himself in favour of building artificial islands, environmentalists should jump on him like hungry wolves.

    Him being in favour of something doesn’t automatically follow that the PN is against such ideas.

    I’m in favour of dumping at sea; after all nature does that every time there is a heavy downpour.

    Pretty Bay in Birzebbuga is a result of the dumping at sea combined with the dredging works at Marsaxlokk Bay (Freeport).

    This does not mean that this idea is the mother of all solutions for our country’s troubles.

    • Jozef says:

      Joseph seems to ignore there’s an artificial reef being formed outside Dragut Point. Maghtab, undergoing rehabilitation, had been the object of studies related to something similar, before the works started.

      If he’s trying to sell us the power station out at sea, he needs to clarify the statement. As usual, he stops short of any commitment, mentioning difficult decisions to be taken. For whom, Mepa?

      He obviously won’t react to the tunnel proposal, which at this point in time, would result to be the only source of excavation material.

      This is one cowardly premier in waiting we have here, managing to create speculation on national issues.

  6. Mister says:

    Let’s not ignore the fact that some of the `450` might be children with learning disabilities, which through the governments inclusive programme, study in regular schools and are included in the statistics. Instead of being locked away in `prison schools`, a la MLP.

    But the system should not allow the others to skive off exams. The SEC exams should be obligatory and not an option. Some kids are really getting kicked out on the streets by their parents, who obviously don’t care about their future.

  7. ex-instructor says:

    Those 450 students maybe were ment to frequent a trade school. Maybe that is what they really want to learn. A trade with hands on training most of the day. Unfortunately trade schools do not exist anymore.

    My experience with MCAST apprentices taught me that plenty of students are not able to settle down in the class and concentrate. They need activity all the time.

    MCAST is not the ideal training for them. There is plenty of theory and what these students want are those days at the sponsors’ firms were they can practice their capabilities in their respective trades. Besides that, they have another 5 years of secondary school to stand before MCAST.

    MCAST has been a very good initiative from the goverments. It offers plenty of opprtunities and professional training in various sectors.

    In my opinion closing down the tradeschools was not a very wise decision.

  8. Anthony says:

    These people are not sitting for one single O-level after twelve years at school costing the taxpayer millions.

    Now Joey proposes to create some sort of ’employment’ for them for the next fifty years costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions.

    450 skivers, if you ask me.

    It is the hard-working taxpayer who should be crying for help.

  9. etil says:

    These are definitely not cries for help.

    It is just that these youngsters do not want to further their education at all.

    Now there are choices. One cannot say that one is not academically inclined, because there are also courses for the so-called manual labour.

    Now the youngsters can choose whether or not to further their studies but of course a lot depends on their parents who advise them to go out and find a job because that is the most important thing.

  10. Maria says:

    What is he going to do? Send soldiers in front of their houses to send them to school?

  11. ciccio says:

    So if unemployed young Europeans come to Malta when this European scheme is in place, do WE have to GUARANTEE them a job HERE if they insist on one?

  12. Lilla says:

    Some people feel they do not need formal education, and if they are successful in their line of work anyway, who is anyone to say they should have furthered their education?

    Now I’m a big believer in formal education, but it’s not for everyone.

    A painter I know makes more money in a fortnight than I will eventually make in a month teaching, and he can’t string a sentence in English together to save his life. But he supports his family, and contributes his services to society.

    The real problem lies with the people who see education as a waste of time because they expect to live off the state.

    They see previous generations of their families doing this, and getting along just fine, so why should they worry about furthering their education?

    This problem is perpetuated because parents on welfare encourage their offspring to to be as relaint on the State as they are. But these people are not crying out for help, it is a choice they make.

    And they will probably be voting for you, Dr. Muscat.

  13. Toninu says:

    Easy … jitfak tikteb il-pro-PL comments fuq timesofmalta.com.

  14. Paul Bonnici says:

    When I left secondary school in the Seventies, those sitting GCE ‘O’ level exams were a minority rather than a majority. Why is this newsworthy?

  15. Roadmap says:

    For the time being, Labour is recruiting early school leavers without O Levels to write their electoral programme.

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