This suspension came suddenly, but was not really unexpected. Nearly every year organisations involved in the teaching of Maltese in Australia used to receive a warning letter due to the number of enrolled students being less that the minimum amount prescribed (fifteen students).
In each 3-year period, a huge effort used to be made to have more than fifteen students in at least one of the three yers, and this seems to have made the authorities stop the guillotine from falling, postponing the chop to the next period of three years.
It seems that while this tactic worked several times, now it is no more.
The letter continues to declare the procedure with which Maltese could be considered once again to be inserted at this level, which includes:
•there being no less than fifteen candidates expected from around the country for three consecutive years;
•there be sufficient expertise around the construction of a curriculum and organisation of exams;
•there be sufficient level of teaching of the language.
This procedure says nothing new, the biggest problem by far is the first condition, as the other conditions were already being achieved. To be exact, the problem is that if the quantity of named students were not reached in the recent past, how would they be achieved in future? What different conditions can be created for them to be reached?
And how can these students be grouped when the HSC course in Maltese is terminated? Which school can take this work? In the whole of NSW, there is just one school that had an HSC course in Maltese, the Saturday School for Community Languages in Seven Hills. This will also go walkabout. How can everything start again?
Naturally one prays for a miracle. From my perspective, one who works in the field, I'm pessimistic. I say this as apart from the above, one also needs to observe what is happening in the education system in the state of NSW.
In my opinion, Maltese in this country can be condidered as falling into this category, and probably will continue falling in this category in the years to come.
Although I am pessimistic, this does not mean that nothing can be done. We can try, and I feel we should consider the following.
The number of students of Maltese in NSW, and in Australia, is low in its totality, especially considering that only a small percentage of these would be motivated to continue their studies at HSC level. Therefore for there to be a larger number of advanced students (continuers), there needs to be an increase of students that start at the very beginning (beginners).
One big problem community schools have in teaching Maltese is that these are based on the traditional system of a student needing to physically go to a class and learn there. This mean that if there is someone interested that lives a bit far, he or she could be discouraged and not enrol, even if really interested. Today there are technologies through which the teaching is carried out online, and this period of restrictions caused by the coronavirus has shown us that people actually have turned to these technologies, even if they are seen as inferior to the traditional class.
It seems to me that we can use these technologies more effectively to reach new markets for students for whom it was almost impossible to physically atten lessons in Maltese.
When the number of beginner students is big enough, I think that the wish of some of them, after two or three years, would emerge to continue their Maltese studies leading to a certificate that is accepted in this country. It would be at that stage that we might then approach again NESA (and the VCAA in Victoria if they are in the same situation).
One can only do the best he or she can, and try.
Work and plan. Pray and hope.
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Din is-sospensjoni ġiet għall-għarrieda, imma ma nistax ngħid li ma kinetx mistennija. Kważi kull sena l-organizzazzjonijiet involuti fit-tagħlim tal-Malti fl-Awstralja kienu jirċievu ittra ta' twissija minħabba n-numru ta' studenti miktuba kien inqas mill-ammont minimu preskritt (ħmistax-il student).
F'kull perjodu ta' tliet snin, kien isir sforz ta' barra minn hawn biex ikun hemm iktar minn ħmistax-il student talinqas f'sena waħda minnhom, u din jidher li kienet tagħmel l-awtoritajiet irażżnu l-id bil-minġel, u jipposponu l-ħsad għall-perjodu tat-tliet snin ta' wara.
Jidher li din it-tattika ħadmet għal diversi drabi, imma issa daqshekk!
L-ittra tkompli biex tiddikjara l-proċedura li bih jista' jerġa' jiġi kkunsidrat li l-Malti jiddaħħal mill-ġdid f'dan il-livell, li jinkludu:
•li jkun hemm mill-inqas ħmistax il-kandidat proġettat madwar il-pajjiż għal tliet snin konsekuttivi;
•jkun hemm biżżejjed għarfien dwar kif jissawwar il-kurrikulu u l-organizzar tal-eżamijiet;
•ikun hemm livell suffiċjenti ta' tagħlim għal-lingwa.
Din il-proċedura mhi xejn ġdida, l-ikbar problema hija l-ewwel kundizzjoni, għax il-kundizzjonijiet l-oħra diġà kienu qiegħdin jintlaħqu. Preċiżament, il-problema hi li jekk in-numri ta' studenti msemmija ma ntlaħqux fil-passat riċenti, kif se jintlaħqu fil-futur? X'kundizzjonijiet differenti se jinħolqu biex jintlaħqu?
U kif se jinġabru dawn l-istudenti meta l-kors tal-HSC tal-Malti se jitwaqqaf? Liema skola se tieħu dan ix-xogħol? F'NSW kollu, hemm skola waħda biss li kellha kors tal-HSC tal-Malti, is-Saturday School for Community Languages f'Seven Hills. Dak sejjer bonswa issa. Kif se jerġa' jinbeda kollox?
Naturalment wieħed jitlob li jsir miraklu. Ngħid għalija, li naħdem fil-qasam, ninsab pessimist. Ngħid hekk għaliex apparti dan ta' fuq, wieħed irid ukoll josserva x'qed jiġri fis-sistema edukattiva tal-istat ta' NSW.
Fl-opinjoni tiegħi, il-Malti f'dan il-pajjiż jiġi kkunsidrat li jaqa' f'din il-kategorija, u probabbilment jibqa' jaqa' f'din il-kategorija jekk tħares 'il quddiem fis-snin li ġejjin.
Għalkemm jien pessimist, dan ma jfissirx li naħseb li ma jista' jsir xejn. Nistgħu nippruvaw, u inħoss li għandna nikkunsidraw dan li ġej.
In-numru ta' studenti tal-Malti f'NSW, u fl-Awstralja, huwa baxx fit-totalità tagħhom, speċjalment meta tikkunsidra li persentaġġ baxx minnhom biss ikunu motivati li jkomplu l-istudji tagħhom fil-livell tal-HSC. Allura biex ikun hemm numru ikbar ta' studenti avvanzati (continuers), jridu jiżdiedu l-istudenti li jibdew mill-bidu (beginners).
Problem kbira li għandhom l-iskejjel komunitarji li jgħallmu l-Malti, hi li dawn kienu bbażati fuq is-sistema tradizzjonali li l-istudent irid imur fiżikament ġewwa klassi u jitgħallem hemm. Dan ifisser li jekk hemm xi ħadd interessat li joqgħod daqsxejn 'il bogħod, jista' jaqta' qalbu u ma jinkitibx, anke jekk interessat sew. Illum hawn teknoloġiji li bihom it-tagħlim jista' jsir onlajn, u dan il-perjodu ta' restrizzjonijiet ikkawżati mill-koronavirus uriena li ħafna nies fil-fatt daru għal dawn it-teknoloġiji, anke jekk jarawhom bħala inferjuri għal klassi tradizzjonali.
Jien jidhirli li nistgħu nużaw dawn it-teknoloġiji b'mod iktar effettiv biex nilħqu swieq ġodda ta' studenti li għalihom kien kważi impossibbli fiżikament li jattendu għal-lezzjonijiet tal-Malti.
Meta n-numru ta' studenti beginners ikun kbir suffiċjenti, jien naħseb li waħidha toħroġ ix-xewqa ta' wħud minnhom, wara xi sentejn jew tlieta, biex ikomplu t-tagħlim tal-Malti b'ċertifikat li jiġi aċċettat f'dan il-pajjiż. Ikun f'dak l-istadju li nkunu nistgħu nerġgħu navviċinaw lin-NESA (u lill-VCAA f'Victoria jekk ikunu fl-istess sitwazzjoni).
Wieħed jista' biss jagħmel mill-aħjar, u jipprova.
Jaħdem u jippjana. Jitlob u jittama.
1letter reference D2020/98647 dated 19/6/2020 from Paul Martin, CEO NESA to Mr Lawrence Buhagiar, Consul General of Malta
2NSW Curriculum Review; April 2020; NSW Education Standards Authority
3NSW Government response to the NSW Curriculum Review final report; 2020; p.8
1letter reference D2020/98647 dated 19/6/2020 from Paul Martin, CEO NESA to Mr Lawrence Buhagiar, Consul General of Malta
2NSW Curriculum Review; April 2020; NSW Education Standards Authority
3NSW Government response to the NSW Curriculum Review final report; 2020; p.8
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