A total of Lm30 million a year is invested by government in higher education in funds allocated to higher learning institutions and student maintenance grants.
And now that the post-secondary sector has grown significantly, especially with new educational institutions of higher learning over the past few years, Education Minister Louis Galea is proposing a Commission for Higher Education.
Speaking at the launch of MCAST's fifth prospectus at the Institute of Business and Commerce on the college's main campus in Paola on Tuesday, Dr Galea said the Commission, which was required immediately, would act as a direct regulator for post-secondary and other higher education institutions, follow closely what goes on and ensure that quality higher learning is really offered.
Dr Galea emphasised the importance of maintaining high quality standards in education at MCAST and said that the qualifications the college provided would only be of value to those who achieved them if these were recognised both locally and abroad as certificates of competence and knowledge and of the ability to continue to develop and learn in the industry.
It is also for this reason that the Education Ministry wishes to create a regulatory framework which would assess the quality of courses offered at MCAST, University and other educational institutions of higher learning.
College principal Frank Edwards said that over the past four years the college had developed fast to be able to incorporate more institutes and offer a wider choice of courses and higher levels of education. The college managed to do this while maintaining a high quality of educational provision.
"Having recently been presented with an International Centre of Excellence Award by Edexcel of the UK, we are on the right track to achieving the Minister's vision to be a college of excellence in the Mediterranean region," Mr Edwards said.
"The Excellence Award gives confidence to employers, parents, students and staff at the college that we are doing something right, something good, something we can actually be proud of.
"There has been a lot of investment by government, in terms of staff development, teacher training and, most important, the hard work of staff and students combined. After all, that's what the new vocational qualifications are all about - engagement of staff and students and organising through team effort. We want that quality to continue to grow and permeate everything we offer at the college," Mr Edwards added.
Dr Galea said an important part of ensuring the provision of quality education was also the investment made in teacher training and professional development, a big investment in the infrastructure and resources, and strong links with industry.
Since its inception, MCAST has worked hard to strengthen links with industry. This can be highlighted by activities with Lufthansa, Playmobil, Methode and the Malta Shipyards. The college is also working very closely with the pharmaceutical industry and has also had a partnership agreement with Malta Enterprise.
Dr Galea said this underscored the important role MCAST had to play in facilitating foreign direct investment in Malta by ensuring an adequate labour supply of the appropriate skills, knowledge and flexibility required by identified sectors.
"It demonstrates how Malta Enterprise can work with industry and the major educational institutions to expand and enhance Malta's skills base, create more added value employment and together promote the economic welfare of the nation," Dr Galea said.
The first product of this collaboration is the launching in October of the BTEC National Diploma in Applied Science.
With regards to teacher training, he said the first cohort of candidates enrolled in the Vocational Teacher Training Programme are half way through the course which included topics like "Induction, Initial Assessment and Support", "Communication and the Teacher", "Learning Theories and Teaching Techniques and Styles", "The Purpose and Use of Assessment", "Teaching Practice and Resources", "Research and the Research Project", "Further Education in Higher Education, Adult and Community Settings" and "The Professional and Reflective Practitioner".
The Vocational Teacher Training Unit offers in-house training and is fully sponsored by MCAST. The mission statement of the VTTU within the Professional Development Centre is to provide quality and state-of-the-art pedagogical training to staff in reflection of a constantly changing society, thus enabling them to fully develop their own individual potential and talents within the context of the college and related industry.
MCAST has chosen the Edexcel/BTEC Vocational Teacher Framework as the vehicle to achieve a Certificate in Further Education (FE) Teaching of international recognition. This professional qualification in FE teaching, which will have the joint badge of Edexcel and MCAST, is designed to provide focused and specialist vocational programmes with a clear work-related emphasis.
The college is not launching any new courses this year but is consolidating existing courses and levels as it continues to invest heavily in its infrastructure. In the past few years MCAST has managed to maintain a steady programme of expansion and modernisation of its infrastructure while developing new resources, like the new library and learning resource centre.
The college has invested heavily in the set-up of modern library facilities on all its sites, including the main campus, and off-site institutes and centres. MCAST is also looking at creating learning resource centres as part of its strategy of ensuring that its graduates learn the skill of independent learning.
"These skills guarantee that MCAST graduates over the years can continuously keep up-to-date with their chosen area of expertise and perhaps even branch out into new areas of knowledge for their own and their employers' mutual benefit," Mr Edwards said.
Government will help MCAST rebuild its Institute of Community Services which currently operates from its Sliema premises. The Lm250,000 project was recently submitted by the college's board of directors and will include moving the institute to MCAST's main campus in Paola. Design and tenders for this project are at an advanced stage.
Government's second project is to eventually offer MCAST the Junior Lyceum premises in Kordin. In fact, included in the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools programme is the building of new state secondary schools in various areas in Malta and also the enlargement of existing ones. The Minister expects this project to be completed by 2008.
This replanning exercise will provide students and teachers of Kordin with a new Junior Lyceum of a higher quality and MCAST with its needed space for additional facilities.
Since its inauguration in October 2000, the college has expanded to incorporate nine institutes and campuses all over Malta and Gozo, offering 79 full-time courses in Malta and 13 in Gozo.
Last year the college hosted over 3,600 full-time students and more than 2,000 part-timers in two intakes. In 2004/5, the student intake exceeded 1,600 and over 1,100 students made the grades and graduated earlier this year. In September, the number of students to join MCAST will be similar to last year's.
The college prospectus for the academic year 2005-2006 coincides with fifth formers finishing their scholastic year or sitting for exams. Copies of the prospectus are available from any local council or from the college Website (www.mcast.edu.mt) with further details on all courses offered and how to apply. E-mail: information@mcast.edu.mt. Applications will be received between Monday, July 25 and Friday, July 29.
The college is also holding a series of talks for prospective students and parents, the first one being held on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Maritime Institute, Villa Portelli, Marina Street, Kalkara; July 11, 6 p.m., at the Institute of Building & Construction Engineering, at the Main Campus, Paola; July 12, 6 p.m., at the Institute of Community Services, at the Main Campus; July 13, 9.30 a.m., at the Gozo Centre, Xaghra; July 13, 6 p.m., at the Institute of Information & Communication Technology, Main Campus;
July 14, 9.30 a.m. at the Agribusiness Institute, Luqa Road, Qormi; July 14, 6 p.m., at the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Main Campus; July 14, 9.30 a.m., at the Institute of Business & Commerce, Main Campus; July 15, 9.30 a.m., at the Institute of Art & Design, Main Campus; July 15, 6 p.m., at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Main Campus; and July 22, 9.30 a.m., at the Institute of Business & Commerce, Main Campus.
Students of all ages should consider all options when choosing their educational pathway. If in doubt, guidance services are offered by MCAST and other institutions to help you make the right choices to further your career.