Last week, more than 570 students at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) graduated after four years of academic and technical instruction. The graduation ceremony was a milestone for the college because it was the first time that students had graduated at higher national diploma level since MCAST was set up five years ago.

The college has been a success story from day one, even though many have tried, and continue to try, to belittle the institution. Thousands of students have chosen to take up full-time courses there, while many others attend evening classes in a wide range of subjects.

The college caters for a specific body of school-leavers who, five years ago, had three options. They could either go on to sixth form and take the traditional academic subjects, they could attend one of the few trade schools that existed or they could find a job. In most cases, those who had an aptitude for academia went on to sixth form or university while the rest obtained a technical qualification that, although accepted by industry, was an “inferior” or “low status” qualification in the eyes of certain people.

MCAST, however, has changed all that. Today, anyone leaving the college with a qualification is considered to have achieved a high level of instruction in a subject that, although not “purely” academic, meets the needs of particular sections of industry.

It is a feather in the government’s cap and that of the college that the majority of courses offered at MCAST, if not all, are recognised abroad. International recognition from the City and Guilds, for example, not only gives the college credibility but puts the students’ minds at rest that they are not wasting their time.

The government, especially the Education Ministry, has long seen the need to focus on vocational and technical areas of study. The University of Malta remains the leading educational institution, but it does not cater for young people to whom philosophy, biology and law are not interesting or too “academic”.

Many school-leavers may not have the ability to study to become lawyers or doctors but they are more than capable of dismantling an engine and putting it together in a better condition than it was before. Some students are not adept at remembering what Jurgen Habermas had to say about the public sphere, but give them a graphics software package and they will give you some fantastic designs. Do they not deserve an education that is geared towards the development of these skills? That is what the government has achieved through MCAST.

The next phase in the college’s development will see MCAST offering courses up to degree level. This will be a very important development in the local education scene because the college will become the second institution to offer degree level courses – in subjects that the university of Malta does not offer.

There are a number of problems associated with this development, and the education minister and the university senate are surely aware of them. Recognition of MCAST qualifications will undoubtedly become an issue between the two institutions and The Malta Independent fears that egos and stubbornness will prevent the two from working hand-in-hand in the future education of young people.

We have an opportunity to offer a wider choice of instruction to today’s primary and secondary school students. The figures clearly show that there is a lacuna in education. There are thousands of students leaving school at the end of form five. Just under 10,000 attend courses at university. What about the rest? Are they to be neglected because they are “academically” challenged?

No. And that is why MCAST has proved to be such a good idea. Nearly 4,000 students attend the college. That means 4,000 better qualified people joining the workforce. That means better opportunities. That means Malta gets one step closer to meeting the Lisbon Agenda’s targets.

MCAST has established itself as another important higher education institution and for this reason it should receive the support and encouragement is deserves – not only from the government that set it up, but from all the other stakeholders in this country who cherish education and want to see Malta become a leader in the knowledge economy.