Improving the inclusion of migrant learners in Maltese mainstream education  

The European Commission supports the Migrant Learners’ Unit of the Ministry for Education and Sports to improve the inclusion of migrant learners within mainstream education in Malta. The project will improve the quality of education provision by supporting migrant learners’ inclusion and facilitating more effective and collaborative synergies between educational and other stakeholders. 

Context 

Malta has experienced a high increase in the number of migrants in the past years. The Ministry for Education and Employment reports that 4000 new migrant learners coming from 120 nationalities are registering for state schooling annually in Malta. The project addresses the need to support national efforts in ensuring inclusion, addressing inequalities and supporting economic growth through the educational system, which should be equipped further to provide support for all learners including migrants, who tend to come from a more challenging background and more often drop out of schools. This is in line with the Commission Action Plan on the Integration of third-country nationals. 

Support delivered 

Based on an assessment of the needs of migrant learners and other relevant stakeholders and on a comprehensive functional review of the Migrants Learners Unit's (MLU) current structures and measures to facilitate migrant learners’ inclusion, the project will contribute to strengthening MLU’s capacity and strategic planning and partnerships. This is meant to improve the provision of inclusive education services that responds better to new migrant learners' and teachers' needs, in cooperation with stakeholders concerned.  

Result achieved 

At the end of the project, it is expected that: 

•  MLU is informed further about the quality of service provision for migrant learners and endorses recommendations for improvement.  
• MLU is supported to implement innovative measures contributing to more effective education services for migrant learners. This will be done through best practice sharing; a set of recommendations geared towards the improvement of service provision; a training for educators and teachers on diversity management; and three proposals for pilot actions to foster inclusive education in favour of new migrant learners.