The Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) has said that it still holds the status of affiliate with the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, "which has been held during the past years."

MFHEA issued a statement, saying that it wanted to provide clarification regarding its recent review by the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) "and reaffirm its ongoing commitment to quality assurance in line with European standards."

"Before addressing the outcome of the review, it is important to understand the distinction between ENQA and EQAR, two key entities in the European Higher Education Area," it said.

"ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) is a membership-based organisation that evaluates quality assurance agencies across Europe. It assesses whether agencies meet the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG), with a focus on good governance, independence, and effective internal procedures. Following its 2024 review, ENQA confirmed that MFHEA meets these standards, including the requirement for independence."

EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education) is a public register of agencies that demonstrate substantial compliance with the ESG, it said. "It promotes transparency and mutual trust in higher education across Europe. Inclusion in EQAR is voluntary but represents an additional layer of external validation," the MFHEA said.

The MFHEA said that it recently submitted itself, for the first time, to an external review for inclusion in EQAR. "The outcome found that MFHEA is partially compliant with some of the ESG criteria - a common result for agencies undergoing this process for the first time. It is important to clarify that this does not constitute a failure of standards. In fact, EQAR's observation on the standard of independence diverges from ENQA's conclusion on the same matter, based on the same review. ENQA found that MFHEA satisfies the independence criteria as outlined in the ESG. In fact, the Authority would like to clarify that it still holds the status of affiliate with ENQA, which has been held during the past years."

MFHEA said that there have been isolated cases concerning the recognition of Maltese-accredited qualifications in the past. "However, these issues predated the EQAR submission and are being addressed through ongoing discussions with the relevant authorities."

"Despite not being listed on EQAR, Maltese qualifications have been recognised by international institutions for over 15 years, demonstrating sustained credibility and trust in the national quality assurance framework."

It said that the decision to apply to EQAR was a proactive and voluntary step by MFHEA to further align with European best practices and promote transparency.

"The Authority remains committed to strengthening its systems and processes and intends to reapply to EQAR when ready. In the spirit of continuous improvement, MFHEA embraces the mindset expressed by EU Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva: 'It's not bad to fail; it's much worse not to try.' MFHEA reaffirms its dedication to ensuring that Malta's further and higher education system maintains high standards of quality, independence, and international recognition."

In Parliament, Education Minister Clifton Grima reassured students and private education providers.

Prompted by MP Rosianne Cutajar, who asked the Minister to clarify the situation, Grima said that the authority first applied to become a full member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and EQAR, two separate institutions working in the same area, and composed of public and private institutions. He said that ENQA then proceeded to carry out an audit which involves a number of standards tied to the same authority. Grima said this same audit was used by the two EU institutions, and was interpreted differently from the separate entities.

Grima said that the audit reports did not say that Malta failed to meet all standards, but rather that it was "partially compliant," and the MFHEA has 18 months from the EQAR's first decision where it can request a review of the sectors in which the country was only partially compliant until March of next year.

He also referred to reports that the authority's independence was compromised and said that nowhere in EQAR's report does it say that a national authority is fully independent, and ENQA's report said that the country satisfied the needs for the authority's independence.

"I will leave it up to the authority to do what it needs to do so that Malta can be a full member of this register, and continue increasing the standards," Grima said.

"Meanwhile, I reassure each student and all operators that the situation in Malta has not gotten worse, we have only ever been affiliated with ENQA and were never a part of EQAR, but we are still in the process of becoming full members," Grima said.