Students urged not to make situation worse

The University Students' Council has called on students not to exacerbate the situation when it comes to the directives given to lecturers not to submit examination results.

Students had joined forces and used the online platform Facebook to complain about the directive, saying this would have a negative impact on them.

More than 1,100 people - mostly students - have joined a group complaining against the directives.

The 900-odd lecturers were directed by the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (Umasa) and the Malta Union of Teachers not to submit results of examinations and assessments, much to the students' concern.

Umasa president Victor Buttigieg has defended the directives, saying they would not have an impact on students if the impasse is resolved before the results are due to be issued. In fact, he explained, lecturers were told to carry on with corrections.

Meanwhile, the University said that the government will be appointing a team to negotiate the collective agreement of University and Junior College lecturers, around which the industrial dispute revolves.

But when contacted yesterday, Dr Buttigieg pointed out that the negotiations had been ongoing for a year and it was not a case of suspending directives because a new negotiating team had been appointed.

The KSU said it had meetings with University Rector Juanito Camilleri, Dr Buttigieg and the University's registrar and deputy registrar, apart from consulting with the pro-rector on student affairs, Maryanne Lauri. It said the meetings showed that there was a willingness to push the negotiations forward.

However, the students' council complained that it was not consulted before the directives were issued.