Are requirements there to select the best in the field?
Education is one of the most valued assets one can have. I believe that a sound education is the pivot of any flourishing society. While not everything is thought inside a classroom, the Maltese Islands mentality gives a lot of importance to academics.
Last weekend I had a discussion on education and someone made a comment that really got pinned in my head. Entry requirement for our public University of Malta forces everyone to have a science subject at Advanced or Intermediate level.
“Whoever wants to pursue an art or language must also be proficient in a science” my friend exclaimed. “You could be proficient in a number of languages and still be denied studying them at university level.” she continued.
It does work both ways, anyone who ‘majors’ science subjects should also be proficient at least one language.
I completely got here point but counter-argued that pure academics have a strong reliance on the king of science, Maths. Statistics, especially when performing studies, are a valuable tool in the arsenal of any kind of researcher.
Another one of my friends commented, “Sometimes, they lower the bar just so children of privileged people can get in”. Sadly, our nepotism is also prevalent in our independent university.
Criticism over, I do feel that there are many people who are truly passionate at one topic and get denied the ability to prove their worth on the subject.
Entry requirements are needed to keep check of the influx of students, especially in public free for all schools, but it definitely tarnishes any eager stars on specific topics.
Maybe we should have a place where these kinds of one-trick ponies are accepted within the higher order of academia. Everyone should get a shot at reaching for the stars in a budding country like Malta.
