The Legal Notice which lowers the standards of universities in Malta was only published in the interest of the Jordanian investors who signed the heads of agreement to develop a university at Zonqor, Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil said in parliament this morning.
The address came at the start of a discussion on a parliamentary motion put forward by Nationalist MP George Pullicino against legal notice 150, which the opposition is saying lowers the standards required for the opening of tertiary institutions. The motion was voted against.
He said that the government's argument that such changes are needed to introduce pluralism is futile, because the current legislation already allows for educational institutions to open in Malta – given they satisfy the laid down criteria.
The Malta Independent first broke the story about the legal notice 150 which was published three days after the heads of agreement was signed with a Jordanian investor for the development of a university at Zonqor.
Dr Busuttil said that by changing the requirements for a university licence, the government is disqualifying what thousands of graduates have worked for. Instead of raising the standards, he said, the government is lowering them, putting for sale the title of a university and trying to justify it by saying it introduces education pluralism. The government introduced the legal notice without consulting the opposition, the university or lecturers.
The current legislation was drafted by the NCHE in 2007, following a long consultation process, with the aim of attracting highly esteemed institutions to Malta and protecting students from a low standard education. The regulations were introduced to ensure that certain criteria are satisfied without political intervention. The regulations were intended to have institutions which offer limited, but specialised, courses.
Dr Busuttil said suddenly, the government decided to change route. This decision, he said, is worse than when former Prime Minister Alfred Sant decided to remove student stipends.
The opposition leader said that the legal notice aims at serving those with particular business interests. The legal notice allows for any commercial company offering a bachelor’s degree in four, and not six fields and a PHD programme in one, and not four, fields. The legal notice will change the meaning of a university as we know it today, he said.
The LN will also remove the need of research and training as criteria for university. The Magna Charta Universitarium states that "teaching and research in universities must be inseparable if their tuition is not to lag behind changing needs, the demands of society, and advances in scientific knowledge"
Worst of all, he said, the government is trying to paint the picture that the legal notice comes at the national interest.
The government is also influencing the power of the commission for education, because even if the institution does not reach the lowered standards, the commission will be able to allow it if in national interest.
The legal notice he said goes against the principles of clear, explicit, objective, public and consistent regulations. “Where is good governance, where is the transparency and professionalism?” Dr Busuttil questioned.
“This government is not supporting pluralism. It is merely selling the title of university – in the same way he wanted to sell our citizenship. The justification of pluralism is futile, because educational institutions are allowed to open in Malta, given they satisfy the required criteria,” he said.
The Opposition leader said that 150 academics criticised the ways in which the government is doing things without consultation. The LN was published in secret because there are ulterior motives, he said.
“The government wants us to believe that it was a coincidence that the legal notice was published at the same time the heads of agreement was signed,” he said.
He said that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the university at Zonqor was to be ‘world class’ – while at the same time he lowered the standards for university licensing.
This legal notice, he said, opens the doors for abuse and reputation of education.
Government broke the law by not consulting stakeholders
Dr Busuttil said that by law, the government needs to consult with all stakeholders before changing the requirements, and publish a report of the findings.
The commission also has the responsibility to organise debates and discussions on the subject, however the legal notice threatens the independence of that very same commission.
Yesterday, he said, a call was made for the national commission. “Did someone from the commission resign over political intervention? he asked.
“The consequences of the legal notice will tarnish Malta’s reputation. I call on the government to truly consult and listen and to work on consensus. He should revoke the decision and work with the Opposition on this, “he said.
“Over the years, the education sector has improved and there was a consensus between both parties on the issue. Let us not change that. Students deserve the very best,” he said. “I pledge that in the future, the Nationalist Party will raise the educational standards.”
No company will simply buy university licence - Bartolo
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that he will not weaken in the face of personal insults by the Opposition Leader. He said that for the first time, the government introduced free revision classes for those who failed their o-levels.
He said that he spoke with families who had to loan thousands of euros from the bank to study in foreign educational institutions in the country – which turned out to be fraud. It was the Nationalist government, he said, that used to promote institutions which were not accredited.
He said that in the past 20 years, it was the Labour government that raised the standards for English Language schools in Malta. It was the first government in Europe to do so between 1996 and 1998.
“If I’ve done that for English Language schools – why would I do the contrary for universities?” he said.
“Malta needs to compete with giants such as the United States and Asia and a regulator is required. No one will simply buy a university licence – the institution needs to show that it has a high standards and high quality educational programmes. The institution also needs to show that even the lecturers have certain qualifications and experiences. Irrelevant of who you are or how much you’re willing to invest in our country, you need to satisfy the criteria,” he said.
It seems, he said, that the Opposition has no idea of the radical changes within the educational sector around the world.
“We do not want to give the impression that anyone can buy a licence, or even a degree. We want to increase the power of the University of Malta and allow it to make more profit from foreign students,” he said.
He said that is satisfied with the members of the commission of education and recruitment is based on the abilities of the individuals and not on their political beliefs. There is no political intervention or pressure, he said.
Minister failed to answer questions - MP George Pullicino
MP George Pullicino said that the Minister had deliberately missed pointing out certain criteria needed for university licensing. The criteria states that the study programmes need to be very diverse.
He said that 60% of students that attend the universities mentioned by Mr Bartolo do so because of its high reputation and research facilities.
He completely denied that the Nationalist government had allowed institutions which did not have the students' interests at heart to continue to operate. The Nationalist government, he said, had appointed an Ombudsman for Students, set up The National Qualification Centre and the Commission for Higher Education. It had also ensured that even Kindergarten teachers have a degree.
"The legal notice clearly shows a government without vision. It had completely ignored all unions and stakeholders and made the commission the government's puppet. If the government had nothing to hide, it would have not published this legal notice in secret," he said.
He noted that university academics had stated that the legal notice publication lacked transparency and that the changed criteria will only change things for the worse and not the better.
Mr Pullicino said that the education minister failed to answer the questions put forward by the Opposition Leader - mainly that the lack of consultation on the government's part goes against legislation.