AD education spokesperson speaks out against home-schooling

AD education spokesman Mario Mallia has spoken out on the subject of home schooling in a video he posted on Vimeo.

He passed on some of AD’s thoughts on home schooling. “The law mentions that reasons for this proposal could include families who are in Malta briefly, or children or are ill. But it also mentions cases where parents might not agree with the education system. On what they would not agree, we do not know, but this is where the issue lies.

“What would such objections entail? What alternatives would they provide? This is where the discussion lies, as education is a social and political activity. Because of this, it is open to scrutiny and this is for the betterment of students. At the end of the day, we follow a national curriculum. What curriculum would home schooling follow?”

The law states that only certain people, accepted by a Commission, can home educate. “This is fine, but what are they saying? They are saying that these people are capable of teaching, not necessarily what kind of messages are being taught and whether they are teaching education holistically.

“Students learn from the experiences they have together”, he said, adding that this is the biggest argument against home schooling.

He argued that it could result in a feeling of exclusion, rather than inclusion. “Education law cannot be inclusive and exclusive. If we offer home schooling, a contradiction within law will be apparent.”