Lecturers and teachers

It is very positive that Dr Alfred Micallef (The Sunday Times, February 11) has publicly stated what really should be clear to all, namely that a University appointment does entail teaching. If not, what exactly are 8,000-plus students doing there?

Plainly put, Dr Micallef is as much "a teacher attached to the University" as I am "a teacher attached to the Junior College". Incidentally, readers are referred to The Times of February 6, in which the Malta Union of Teachers has made its stand quite clear on the issue. As for who has referred to the teaching profession in a disparaging way, it is up to readers to decide.

The real issue here is patently obvious. By referring to University Junior College academic staff as 'teachers', one can then justify their treatment as second-class University staff (if at all) in the next collective agreement between that institution and its academic staff.

No academic can doubt that the University and all of its academic staff require better conditions of work and more resources to improve the teaching and research aspects of their profession. The baffling part is why this has to come at the expense of the Junior College, of its academic staff and of its nearly 4,000 students.

The undeniable fact is that Junior College academic staff are employees of the University of Malta, employed under the same conditions and promotion criteria as those at the University and its Faculties and Institutes. Lecturing at the Junior College are University academics, from assistant lecturer to associate professor grades, many with hard-earned Ph.Ds and with a considerable amount of published research. Others - as is the case at University - are currently reading for their Ph.D. It would simply be unacceptable, unlawful and unjust for these to be relegated to second-class status.

Many academics at the Junior College lecture regularly at the University. Just imagine, having second-class lecturers sive 'teachers' who are then, however, 'academic' enough to lecture at University!

Perhaps, even more serious, does anyone honestly believe that Maltese citizens (and taxpayers) would gain by relegating Junior College academic staff to second-class University employees? Thousands of Maltese students attending the Junior College over the years have been lectured by qualified and motivated academics.

Those thousands form, by far, the bulk of students who end up attending University. Others did not pursue University studies, yet even the latter have benefited from exposure to a more academic environment thanks to the wise decision to integrate the Junior College with the University. Yes, it was a wise decision and one that has made quality education in Malta more democratic and accessible.

Would the University itself stand to benefit by now dissociating itself from its own academics at the Junior College? It is incredible that the academic status of Maltese employed by the University of Malta, holding or reading for post-graduate qualifications, and with published research to their credit, is being questioned.

If colleagues on full-time employment at the University have added responsibilities, they also have an additional minimum of Lm800 extra annually in the form of works resources, an office for every lecturer, as well as a computer with Internet access on every desk. Lacking most of these basic necessities, Junior College staff still manage to lecture, to pursue academic studies and to conduct and publish research.

The academic staff of the Junior College is indeed a credit, not a burden, to the University.