Christian Peregin
Students plan street protest
The results of final-year undergraduate students will be released as a sign of goodwill but hundreds of others remain without their marks and several are planning to take to the streets on July 12.
A number of students felt they should protest if the talks the University Students' Council (KSU) was having with the relevant stakeholders did not lead to the release of their exam results. They are planning to march through Republic Street, Valletta, even though such protest has not been endorsed by the KSU.
Their ordeal began three weeks ago after the Malta Academic Staff Association (UMASA) and the Malta Union of Teachers decided to strike by withholding the exam results of Junior College and university students until their demands for a new remuneration package were met.
Things budged slightly when the unions declared they would lift the directive for final-year undergraduate students before a conciliation meeting yesterday between the University and the government, as a sign of goodwill, irrespective of the meeting's outcome.
Despite this move, the unions said the University continued to withhold its proposals for remuneration and the meeting yielded no positive results. The unions advised the academic staff to be "on the alert for further advice and/or instructions".
As official talks reached a deadlock, students embarked on an online debate, pushing for a protest.
A Facebook group, called Stop This Nonsense, was formed by students urging both the UMASA and the MUT to end the strike. The group has already reached over 1,400 members and has been very active in recent days as students' frustrations rise.
Some students expressed disapproval at the approach adopted by the KSU, which they felt had done nothing but issue press releases. Despite its optimism and constant appeals for students to remain calm, some speculated that the agreement might not even be reached by September.
Although many students sympathise with the lecturers' cause, there was a general feeling of concern that if the results were not released in time they would miss out on possible employment and academic opportunities.
Many also feared that if their results were published too late there would not be enough time to study for possible re-sits because these cannot be shifted.
The KSU disassociated itself completely from the protest, saying important developments were expected in the coming week.
KSU president Roberta Avellino told The Times that her council welcomed the move by the UMASA and the MUT to publish the final-year students' results. The KSU, she added, will continue fighting for all the students to have their results published.
The KSU maintained that the two unions should have consulted students before embarking on industrial action and should not have used students as a bargaining tool.
Pulse, another student organisation, criticised the ongoing strike and urged the KSU to take a clear stand and be more proactive, "rather than just simply publishing press releases".
Pulse president Tyson Fenech said when contacted that the move to partially lift the directive was a step forward but he insisted that more had to be done. He disapproved of the KSU's constant demands to "not make a fuss on the media" for fear of disrupting negotiations.
He said students should present a united front and accused the KSU of keeping students in the dark. Pulse did not exclude the possibility of joining the protest on July 12. Mr Fenech urged all student organisations to unite on this matter.
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Mark Anthony Portelli
Jun 25th 2008, 23:22
KSU Has lost its origins
Carl Grech
Jun 25th 2008, 21:45
@ Roderick Mallia
I would just like to point out that INSITE, one of organisations on campus, and not KSU had hosted the political debate you speak of.
With regards to your stand on KSU having a political agenda, I would just like to state that regardless of a KSU executive being elected through any political party, KSU still holds the students interest as its first priority. This should explain the way KSU has reacted about this whole issue, where it took a more cautious approach which ultimately led, as expected, to the publication of results, rather than taking a more radical stand that would have ultimately hindered the publicaiton of the results; something that would certainly not have been in the interest of any student.
Carl Grech
KSU
Roderick Mallia
Jun 25th 2008, 20:50
@ WJ Gatt
Well. One still has to admit that KSU has been toning down the government's lack of commitment to education in the past years. A classic example: Just compare what happened during the Sant administration and the Gonzi administration. For some reason the stipend cuts under the PN did not warrant a protest or the same kind of reaction the MLP government received. One could more recently mention the farce during the political debate hosted by KSU, for example. It is clear that KSU have a political agenda, which is terribly unfortunate since that means the council will never put the student's rights first and foremost. KSU is being way too cautious not to step on the government's toes, and rarely engages itself in matters of national interest, like other universities and councils do, abroad. But perhaps they're just waiting for the MLP to be back in government...
WJ Gatt
Jun 25th 2008, 19:00
If you were to think about it for a moment you'd realise that the university is really a microcosm, a downsized model of the real world out there. Politics certainly do not amiss - we see Pulse rubbing its hands - seizing the opportunity to attack KSU and accuse it of sleeping through the whole process; a miniture representation of reds and blues if you ask me! Instead of joining forces with the KSU for a common goal (student's marks), Pulse prefers to criticize it at every opportunity. Very funny and sad at the same time indeed. This may be even worse than what goes on nationally - luckily Dr. Muscat and Dr. Gonzi are seeing eye to eye lately.
J.Borg
Jun 25th 2008, 18:03
It is good for students to protest. However, they should re-consider of protesting against Government who says one thing and does another. We here time and time again that we need more high-value added jobs, we need a more knowledge-based society...etc. At the same time, the very workers who form part of Malta's knowledge-based society and who are contributing to the training of 10,000 more students every year, have to wait for years to get decent working conditions. Students should indeed protest against government as with this attitude, they are going to get more and more de-motivated academic staff teaching them. Are they happy to see more full-time academics moving out to the private sector or going abroad? Yes, please, go out and protest ....as haveing de-motivated academic staff will directly influence the quality of knowledge transfer you will eventually receive. Is this in line with the University's slogan.......Outstanding Past...Bright Future???
Maria Debono
Jun 25th 2008, 14:22
I think everyone here feels the same frustration - we understand and sympathise with our lecturers, but not at the expense of our futures. Lecturers should join Students in a protest as a show of solidarity - because they both want the same things for each other. This shouldn't become a battle between students and lecturers as umasa and mut are trying to make it.
It's all circular, if lecturers are paid enough, they will attend more lectuers and produce better quality teaching, thus it is in the students interest to support this.
K. Zahra
Jun 25th 2008, 14:11
Oh. So no one protested when the stipends were cut in 2005. But some want to protest now. Weird.
Nikita Zammit Alamango
Jun 25th 2008, 12:47
However, thinking with reverse physchology for a minute, i come to realise that there is a great coincidence in this matter. Just before the March general elections, there were talks and facts that the september re-sits were to be moved to a later date (november / januaray).
But I, like many other students received a letter ensuring me that the re sits will be held as usual after i showed my concern publically. This letter was a guarantee from Dr. Louis galea, now speaker of our parliament.
Funnily enough i get this feeling that the authorities are acutally taking advantage of this current situation. So like the proverb in maltese says "Ma ghaddewx mil bieb se jghadu mit tieqa ?".
In spite of this, i am sure that everyone is clever enough to realise the aim behind this. So i plea to the Unions not to let the government have his way in this, and to realise the pressure and stress that we, as students go through while studying for exams and even until the results are issued. While taking this opportunity to thank both unions and lecturers for their constant support and wonderful work.
Nikita Zammit Alamango
Jun 25th 2008, 12:33
This is totally absurd !
To start with i want to show my sympathy towards all the lectures and teachers, for being patient for about 5 yrs.
However, i can never agree that students are used as a bargaining tool, especially when it comes to keeping back results. Just like the article above points out, students might miss job opporunites, and not only that but also resits if this takes longer then september.
I fully agree with the protest that will be organised in July, even though i think it should happen immediately. This will hopefully waken the concerned authorities and make them realize our situation as students. Abroad this is perfectly normal that students go out and protest to make their voices heard to those concerned. I know for certain an amout of students who will attend that protest, and from here encourage all youths, even those that might not be effected to join in the protest. The results are our Right. Lets fight for it !!