Yearly accounts seen by this newsroom show that the much-hyped American University of Malta is not living up to expectations – at least the government’s expectations.
The Malta Independent on Sunday reported last week that AUM has racked up over €11 million in losses in 2018 and 2019. The company had already registered losses of over €4 million in 2017.
The fledgling university is likely going through a tougher time this year, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. But Covid-19 was not yet a thing in 2017, 2018 and 2019, which shows that, even before the pandemic hit, the university was struggling to live up to the expectations of the Muscat administration.
The university has also failed to tell this newsroom how many students are currently enrolled for its courses. What we know is that, in October 2019 it had less than 150 students.
This is a miserable track record for a university that had plans to devour a huge tract of virgin land in Marsascala, and which has been entrusted with two important historical buildings in the heart of the Three Cities, with plans to expand in Cospicua as well, much to the dismay of residents.
Most of our readers will remember how the government had presented this project a few years back – the grandiose presentations about a university that would bring in 4,000 students in its first few years and which, we were told, necessitated the take up of ODZ land at Zonqor Point, on which to build its secondary (and largest) campus.
Those plans had been scaled down after massive protests in the area, and the government had said that Zonqor will not be touched if AUM did not reach its required student numbers. Yet, to our mind, the area in question is still not safe from possible future development.
AUM is nowhere near close to filling its Cospicua campus, let alone another one in Marsascala.
Last year, the university had filed a planning application to construct new buildings in Cospicua, one of which would be a huge dormitory complete with swimming pool. Cospicua and Senglea residents were angered by the plans, which would take up many precious parking spots in the area. Even local MP Glenn Bedingfield had come out against these plans and urged for another location to be found. The application had been refused but AUM is appealing it. That appeal is still pending.
It is amply clear by now that AUM does not need these developments. The university said in its accounts – and even told this newsroom in comments it sent in – that the investor behind the project can absorb the losses incurred by the university and keep it afloat. So from a financial perspective, AUM seems to be surviving. But the surrounding urban environment and the land in Zonqor does not enjoy the same guarantees.
While we are not advocating for government action against a struggling business – that is their issue, and theirs alone – we do expect the government to ensure that no further land is taken up for nothing. Zonqor should be out of the question. And any dormitory, when and if it actually becomes a necessity, should be located away from the proposed location.