Somebody told me that certain academic staff at the University of Malta consider the proposal to set up a new University in the Cottonera area and at Zonqor in Marsacala as a threat too many. They believe the project could undermine the integrity and development of the Malta University.

They’re making the wrong calculation.

Frankly, many claims could be advanced, in favour and againt, the proposal for a new University, including the way this is being done. But possibly the above is the weakest argument that could be made against the project, both substantively and in terms of the educational consequences that could result from its implementation.

In first place, it is difficult to see how a private University could be more of a “threat” to the Malta University, than the private TV stations have been to PBS. They weren’t and are not.

Secondly, an educational establishment which is providing teaching programmes that are worthwhile, need not worry about the “competition”  that other institutions could offer. Let students decide.

The objective set for the island – to develop educational services for export – is well taken. What merits the utmost consideration is how to set about achieving this aim. That should be the context for all claims and calculations.

***                 

The Corbyn phenomenon

Those who voted to elect Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, with a stronger majority than when Tony Blair was chosen for the same post, wanted to make a political statement. They knew what they were doing.

The media and political analysts had been proclaiming for quite a while that choosing Corbyn would mean suicide for Labour. It would for sure not win the next general election. They’re probably right. Given how the mass means of communication are structured and given the design of the social institutions that mould public opinion, Corbynwill be facing a machine rolling to sweep votes away from him.

But those who voted him in, among whom a majority of young people, knew this.

They voted for him because they wanted to belong to a party which offers a real altenative, even if it does not secure the approval of the majority of the population. They did not wish to remain focussed on a hunt for votes that has made socialist parties indistinguishable from right wing parties, in order not to be shunned by “centrist” voters.

***

Regrets

The programme of activities Fast Forward/Pause –Play that is being organized this week by the MUSEUM society is an attractive one Though seen as one of the most traditional groupings in the Catholic structures of this country, the society has succeeded in launching a modern and effective project. Due to travel commitments, I regret not being able to attend for even a part of it.

The presentations on offer feature a line up of films produced in recent years which portray vividly the contrasts in contemporary societies. Included too are a round of discussion meetings.

It might sound strange that I have a soft spot, an admiration even, for the MUSEUM society. Even when disagreeing with some of their views, I always believed its members were honest, sincere and dedicated in their work.

The renewal being attempted by the MUSEUM’s leaders in the running of their organization cannot but be admired.