New bill makes it easier for Maltese to study abroad - minister

A bill on the mutual recognition of qualifications between Malta and other states would make it easier for Maltese studying or training abroad to have their certificates recognised here, Education Minister Louis Galea told parliament when the debate on the bill started yesterday.

He said Malta was preparing to ratify the Lisbon convention on the recognition of qualifications, which sought to harmonise course contents in universities throughout Europe.

He explained that in terms of the bill, a Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre would be set up to evaluate all requests for recognition of certification of academic qualifications or vocational training obtained abroad and channel such requests to the designated authority according to the subject matter.

Such authorities included the University in the case of academic subjects, MCAST, and other bodies such as the Medical Council in the case of doctors, the Accountancy Board in the case of accountants and the MFSC in the case of stock brokers.

Such bodies had to decide on whether or not to grant recognition within four months and recognition could not be granted only when there were substantial differences in the qualifications granted locally and those abroad.

Applicants would have a right for appeal before the Qualifications Appeals Board if the designated authorities themselves did not have an appeals mechanism.

This bill, the minister said, would also facilitate the recognition abroad of qualifications granted by institutions in Malta.

This bill would thus facilitate the movement of people between local and foreign educational and training establishments.

He observed that up to some time ago the trend was for all countries to only recognise the standards and qualifications set by their own institutions.

Malta was lucky, however, that its own standards and qualifications had long been recognised in the Commonwealth and elsewhere.

The trend now was being reversed, in that more institutions abroad were opening up and recognising the standards and qualifications of other institutions. Various universities under the Bologna process were working to harmonise their course contents and qualifications.

In 1979 the Council of Europe and Unesco drew up the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications, which was helping to bring about a level playing field between the various educational, vocational and professional institutions in Europe so that the citizens of member states could move from one institution to another with their existing qualifications being recognised.

Malta had started preparations to ratify this convention.

The minister explained that the Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre would also disseminate information on academic and professional qualifications and promote the recognition of Maltese qualifications abroad.

The bill also enabled the minister to issue regulations to, among other things, provide for the recognition of professional experience.

Concluding, the minister said that apart from the University office on the recognition of overseas qualifications, Malta already had an academic qualifications recognition centre within the Education Department, headed by Joyce Pullicino, which would now be developed into the new centre.

This bill was needed whether or not Malta joined the EU. The recognition of qualifications would enrich exchanges which would lead to higher local standards, the creation of jobs and a better standard of living for the Maltese, Dr Galea said.

Opposition education spokesman Evarist Bartolo said there was no doubt that the quality of local academic and vocational training had to be at international levels if Malta was to have the human resources it needed to compete with other countries.

Indeed, it was a mistake to compare local standards with international standards only at the secondary, post-secondary and tertiary levels. Such comparisons needed to start from the primary levels.

Mr Bartolo observed that one of the obligations of EU membership was the recognition of qualifications. An obligation which had to be assumed on membership was the free movement of persons together with the free movement of products, services and capital, and this could not happen if qualifications were not recognised.

While in past enlargements, member states were given long transition periods in the different sectors, current applicant countries had to comply to EU rules even before membership.

While youths in Malta were being told that with membership, they would be able to work wherever they wanted, it was not being said that the unemployment rate in most EU countries was higher than Malta's.

Furthermore, those Maltese who had professional qualifications required in EU countries could already work in these countries.

The free movement of persons also meant that persons from other countries could come to Malta.

Mr Bartolo asked what work has been done by the national council on the certification of vocational qualifications since its setting up two years ago.

Unfortunately, Malta still lacked National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). A person's ability should not be assessed only by certification but also by practical hands on skills at the place of work.

Also lacking were the General National Vocational Qualifications, the link between secondary level education and vocational qualifications.

Mr Bartolo said it was a matter of concern that two-thirds of adolescents in general secondary schools were not even sitting for SEC exams. New methods needed to be found to assess these students throughout their schooling, and not just at the end. For such students, academic schooling was not enough and more importance should be given to "learning by doing", although this did not mean recreating the trade schools. These students should be assessed for their practical skills.

Malta also needed to improve facilities for post-secondary training. It was unfortunate that there were still not enough places for all those who wished to follow post-secondary vocational courses.

It was clear that this bill had been moved now so that Malta could fulfil the obligations of free movement of workers required by the European Union.

It was well known that some member states who championed the free movement of workers, sought to limit this movement by not recognising qualifications. There had been various cases where the European court rejected such efforts, such as when Italy tried to stop tourist guides from other EU countries from accompanying groups from other EU countries, or when Luxembourg argued that primary school teachers should be locals because they knew the local culture.

Teachers and guides were among the professions mentioned in this bill. Malta would not be able to say that teachers, for example, had to be citizens of Malta. To try to stop EU workers from coming to Malta by insisting they should know Maltese would not work as that would be viewed by the European Court as discrimination.

Indeed, if Malta joined the EU, even non-European workers in a company in the EU would be free to work in another plant of the same company in Malta.

The opposition agreed on the recognition of qualifications and the setting up of mechanism for this purpose, but it disagreed that Malta should automatically open its labour market to foreigners, Mr Bartolo said. Malta, as far as possible, should protect its own labour market.