It was with sadness that I heard of the death of Paul Attard. I had worked with him at MCAST, where he was the president of the Board of Governors for several years. I found him to be a very serious and congenial person and condolences to his family are in order.

One problem I often discussed with him and which he was perturbed about as president of MCAST, was the University of Malta’s proclivity in shutting the door tight to many MCAST students to continue with their studies. The situation has improved slightly lately, but there is still profound procrastination by the University of Malta (UoM) to admit MCAST students to its courses at the proper level, for one excuse or the other. MCAST students are vocational students (they have work periods during their study periods) who often follow BTEC (British qualifications) or other home-grown courses. These courses are certified by the Malta Qualifications Framework and the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE).

The funny thing is that when MCAST students finish what is termed the Extended Diploma (level four) certificate which the NCFHE has certified as being equivalent to three “A” levels passes, the UoM often fails to recognize this and fails to provide access to MCAST students at that level, often only admitting them for a diploma course but not a degree course. This simply means an extra two or three years of study for nothing before they are allowed to register for a degree, something they would have been eligible to do anyway, because by now they would have been able to apply under the maturity clause! Often, “O” level standards are also cited as an entry excuse whereas MCAST First Diploma Courses, which lead to the Extended Diploma, are officially credited by the NCFHE as being equivalent to six “O” levels. The overall result is that many of our students are literally accepted for degree courses abroad especially in the UK, but the doors at home here are shut tight! Could this be a bad case of an academic turfing war? MCAST has its own very efficient and well run degree courses, but sometimes students want to continue to study subjects that are not available at MCAST. Why is access for these students being denied or obstacles put in the way of their entry into degree courses locally, but these same students are then accepted abroad with the same MCAST qualifications?

The UoM needs to act fast here and smell the coffee. Not only is it unfair to deny MCAST students further access to their studies (there are 7,000 full-time students at MCAST), but this could be the golden opportunity to augment many of its own courses and thereby avoid losing many human resources abroad at graduate level. I go so far as to say that if the UoM does not act autonomously on this matter, the politicians should finally step in and legislate about this! I have taught for many years in both institutions. I can professionally say that there is not much difference in the end product at degree level! Many mature vocational students can catch up in academic studies if given half the chance.

This issue becomes even more important when the state is considering raising the school leaving age to 18. This would mean more institutions catering for vocational level courses on a full-time or part-time basis. This would mean a greater number of students in this age group studying full or part-time, many released from their parent’s prejudices which is often the greatest obstacle. This means greater correspondence between our educational institutions, so that students are able to choose the course which fulfils them the most and which best suits their type of intelligence. This would mean a greater capacity for students to move between one educational institution and another. This would mean that the educational resources in our country are put to the best use possible.

MCAST was successfully set up 10 years ago with the aim to provide an alternative route for those who want to continue with their studies, including mature students. It is very important that an interconnector is found between the islands’ main educational facilities for the greater service for those young and not so young who want to fulfil their dreams and their academic capabilities. The fire of dreams should not be put out by bureaucracy nor fettered by unnecessary red tape.

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