However, once students start attending university they quickly become disillusioned.
Although the Maltese education system is advanced, especially when compared to other foreign universities, there are many glitches and problems that emerge throughout the scholastic year. Once a student manages to survive the first year, life becomes much easier even though one never ceases to be amazed at the problems one encounters.
The lack of communication between the various faculties and departments is one of the main causes of misunderstanding. When they have a problem, students are continually referred to a different department, and usually have to go through a lot of red tape. Secretaries are known to have gone out on leave on crucial days when credit applications open or on the day when the add/drop applications are open.
Credits are notoriously known to cause huge chaos. With the introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), the confusion has increased further. At the beginning of every semester hundreds of students swamp the secretary’s office requesting clarification about the credit system: the minimum number of credits needed for that semester, which are compulsory, and a quick summary of the credits.
One student went to apply for her final exam resits after the result list showed she had failed one examination. To her astonishment, the faculty secretary informed her she could not apply for the resit since she had not sat for the exam in the first place. After insisting that she had, the secretary looked up her exam papers and found them. On seeing the papers the secretary realised that not only had the student sat for the exam, but had passed and received good grades. Had the student decided not to apply for her resits, this unforgivable mistake would have never been uncovered.
Although luckily such episodes are not frequent, unfortunately similar stories circulate university. What makes it difficult to put these stories down to rumour is the fact that one almost always knows the person involved.