(Education Ministry's comments added)

Opposition education spokesman Evarist Bartolo has urged the Contracts Appeals Board to urgently consider the case he had raised about possible irregularities in the selection of ICT centres to provide ICT courses for MCAST students.

Some 600 students are still waiting for the courses to start – two months into the scholastic year.

Mr Bartolo said it was shameful that the Contracts Appeals Board had not yet even fixed a date to hear the case.

“The Contracts Appeals Board needs to call this case with urgency so that no more precious time is wasted, and students will not continue to suffer,” Mr Bartolo said.

Mr Bartolo said that while the Prime Minister had blamed him for the fact that the courses had not started, he would not have spoken up had everything been done regularly.

Furthermore, the police had concluded their investigations and what was holding the opening of the courses were the appeal procedures, Mr Bartolo said.

However, the Education Ministry said the investigations being carried out by the police at Mr Bartolo's request were not yet concluded.

The ministry promised students who could not start their course and their parents that Mcast would give them the same treatment and hours of learning as their colleagues who had already started.