The latest scaremongering attempt by Simon Busuttil and his motley crew is on the legal notice issued by the Ministry of Education on the number of courses a university can offer in Malta.
In fact the Leader of the Opposition has presented a motion to the Speaker, Dr A. Farrugia, to debate and vote on the said legal notice.
The PN opposition is basing its argument on the fact that as from now an educational institution wanting to set up university courses in Malta must offer a minimum of four courses instead of six, and in certain cases even one course. To the PN this is “lowering the standards” which would have a very negative effect on the excellent reputation our university enjoys internationally.
I also heard Minister of Education Evarist Bartolo explain that as things stood before the issue of the said legal notice, an educational institution could offer even one course to local students in association with a foreign university. Minister Bartolo reminded George Pullicino, the PN’s shadow minister for education, how Maltese students had been defrauded by bogus university courses organised locally under PN governments. The PN government had done nothing to stop those abuses, the minister said.
Mr Bartolo clearly explained that what is important is not the number of courses a university offers, but the standard of those courses. In fact, the PN opposition is not contesting the quality or standard of the courses to be provided by the American University of Malta, but simply the number of courses to be provided. Mr Bartolo pointed out that Barth’s School of Medicine will only be providing one course, that of medicine. But no one in his right senses would show any doubt on the very high reputation which Barth enjoys internationally just because it will be providing one course.
Now that both Mr. Martin Scicluna, the chairman of the National Commission for Further and Higher Education, has completely rubbished Simon Busuttil’s and the opposition’s criticism of this legal notice, one would have thought that wiser counsel prevails and Simon Busuttil withdraws the opposition’s motion. Instead, the opposition is insisting on its motion.
As I have been repeating for so long, the PN’s main political tactic is to sow doubt and arouse distrust on any project and/or investor who decides to invest in Malta under this government. They consider them as serious obstacles in their desperate attempt to regain power at all costs. After all, they had predicted the exact opposite: that no foreign investment would be made and that Dr Joseph Muscat would be going to Brussels crying for a bailout.
Eddy Privitera
Mosta