Written by Rafel Grima
Books and reading were never really compatible with me. I have a vivid memory of taking ages to finish a Horrid Henry book. Surprisingly I developed a healthy relationship with reading during the pandemic. I felt very much like my grandparents. They read because they enjoy it; it is an essential part of their daily routine. My grandmother, who reads anything from Immanuel Mifsud to Dostoevsky, has her day planned out according to her reading and recalls her daily activities by referring to her books. They read out of enjoyment, and that is all that matters.
On a national level, it resulted that a mere 35% of the population read more than one book in 2017, while a European Union study showed that Malta placed third from last in the number of books bought per household. Seeing the lack of critical thinking and imagination within the university, this probably suggests that most students of the University of Malta also do not read. Discussion often remains very shallow and sometimes there is no discussion at all, in both lectures and extra-curricular activities. Countless of times we hear lecturers complain that students do not venture beyond their required readings, if the latter is ever done.
As a member of Moviment Graffitti,I frequently attend the KSU Commission Meetings which are meant to discuss current issues. Ideas, thoughts and observations often lack any substance. Frankly, they are quite boring; not because of the topics being discussed, but because the same points are repeated over and over again, with no fresh ideas ever popping up.
Let us take a simple example. Following the horrific death of Paulina Dembska, there was a discussion about gender-based violence. Although a very pertinent matter in need of urgent reform, there was no indication that students had given much thought to the subject other than the statuses they had seen while scrolling on social media. No reference was made to any statistics, to Dr Marceline Naudi, who was the Scientific Co-ordinator of the European Observatory on Femicide between 2018 and 2020, to the Women’s Rights Foundation or to any particular study that had already explored the ideological and practical aspects of the subject. I went to the discussion with hopes of learning and understanding more. Instead, it was as empty a discussion as any others we had regarding parking or recycling bins at the university.
It is a true pity. The highest academic institution in Malta has consistently produced, en masse, generations of graduates with an individualistic and non-critical attitude towards learning and studying. This is a long-standing problem which I believe has been aggravated by the neoliberal approach the
university has taken to education. The ethos has been completely shifted towards producing job-driven adults, rather than critical, intelligent thinkers.
This attitude has baffled me since my days in sixth form. Am I receiving an education simply to please my future employers? I hope not. I would also like to think that all educational institutions do not only perceive themselves as job creators but in a rather more holistic manner. A hint of social responsibility would be fitting in such institutions’ ultimate objectives. There is, there must be, an intimate link between the lack of social responsibility most of us have and our exposure to this mentality. A simple example is the lack of resistance to the planning laws in Malta. Everyone hates seeing badly planned apartment blocks, yet nobody wants the laws to change in case they could benefit from them themselves. I would argue that this stems from the fact that the intellectual and political discussion on social class, economics, gender, race and work is very poor amongst our university students. Indicative of this is the lack of reading and desire to think about, discuss and find solutions for these relevant issues. Local university students are still quoting George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, and thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, when in mainland Europe they are reading Rutger Bregman, Zadie Smith, Amia Srinivasan and other emerging
writers, thinkers and researchers.
All this could have a lasting negative effect on Malta. Some argue that we are experiencing a brain drain due to a lack of opportunities for certain graduates and post graduates, as well as the mainstreaming of jobs within the gaming industry.
I do hold a sense of optimism that from this vacuum something good may emerge. As Rutger Bregman says in his book Humankind, now is the time to ‘try to understand the other, even if you don’t get where they’re coming from’. He tells us to ‘be realistic’ and to come out of the closet to do good. When faced with such a situation as the lack of intellectual stimulation and development, we should immerse ourselves in these problems and start thinking of ways to solve the current crises troubling our islands. There is still time to write a hopeful history.