Updated: Bartolo complains of delays in MCAST ICT contract appeal
(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.
27 Comments
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Anthony Neil Pace
Dec 12th 2008, 09:14
@I Galea,
I am sorry, but what Evarist is doing to the Institute is not in our favor.
We are trying to work and this chaos is causing disorganization withing MCAST.
@ Carl Bezzina,
Just so you know the students have not been paid any stipend yet.
and it has been 4 Months.
and to top it all off we are not going to get paid for September .
Janice Azzopardi
Nov 7th 2008, 22:37
Im one of these students who are still left out awaiting a certain MCAST mesg for admission... In my opinion it's a shame.. In any case, we should start in January.. However, I dont actually think that the course will be terminated till May '09.. We'll still need more time to end course.. Anyway, keep us informed!
Thanks
joyce aquilina
Nov 7th 2008, 07:12
so now if only one school wins the case .is this school big enough for 600 students?or will be many of them left out?
MikeMicallef
Nov 7th 2008, 02:59
Joyce Aquilina
My cousin's daughter attended the same center (key) as your son. Is it true that during the course MCAST discovered that key center employed lecturers below the required standards and in fact were sacked towards the end of the course???
I believe all parents want to ensure that the best education is given to their sons and daughters. And all tax payers want to ensure that their taxes are being used well and not go into friends of friends pockets!
I repeat: wait for the results of the investigations and then comment afterwards!
Jeffrey Grech
Nov 6th 2008, 23:05
Be aware that some of the private providers are after setting a name for themselves by boasting about the high numbers of passes. However some of these provide low course content cause they tend to have low academic resources. One also has to keep track of what happens to these students once they "pass" through these courses at MCAST. Some companies, including the one I work with, tend to not hire these students since it reputes them of low standards and incapable of real problem-solving skills. Pity that government is mainly after quantity and not quality.
Carl Bezzina
Nov 6th 2008, 22:49
How nice!!! It does not matter for a number of ppl commenting here whether the course to which their children have subscribed is of good standard or not. Neither whether the said institute provide the proper environment or resources. What is important is that their children start getting a stipend and into this so called system. Then our minds are at rest..phew!!! Balla anqas fuq l istonku. So if it was not for Mr. Bartolo's intervention and the intervention of one of the course providers no one would have said anything? I agree that such things should not happen, however blaming the persons who are requesting that light be shed on some irregularities does not make any sense..unless this country has lost the capability of thinking and taking sensible decisions.
l Galea
Nov 6th 2008, 21:04
Anthony Neil Pace, D. Abdilla
Is this the thanks you give to those who seek to get the best for you?
No wonder the standard of students has gone down to such abysmal levels.
To all the Gonzipn apologist little elves, do you expect that if there is corruption it should be kept under wraps?
Why should the criteria and marks be changed because only one company qualified?
Is it because there were friend and friends of friends who could not make it with the published criteria?
It is OUR and YOUR taxes that will have to pay for corruption.
joyce aquilina
Nov 6th 2008, 20:57
@ anthony neil pace.i agree with you where you said that they should withdraw the case, as i said before my son did very well where he was attending at key in msida.did mcast of poala have the same test as the other schools had?
J.Zammit
Nov 6th 2008, 20:47
According to articles appearing in the local press this is a summary of what happened. The board set up to decide on the tender for the provision of teaching in this course set a number of criteria against which to judge the proposals delivered by different companies. According to these criteria only one made the grade. When the adjudication board saw this they changed the points given to those who did not make it and thus in a second round everyone was successful. When this came out in the public E.Bartolo put a number of questions to the Ministers concerned which they ignored, seeing this he reported the case to the police. Likewise the Company who initially was successful on its own but who then found out that it has to split the pie with its competitors filed a protest in the courts. I think it is unfair to put the blame on E.Bartolo as he was doing his job, the responsibility lies with the authorities for (i) starting the whole tender and adjudication process so late in the day and (ii) for not putting this on the fast track to protect the students.
Gerard Cassar
Nov 6th 2008, 20:44
Why has the Government and the police (the police= government) accepted to investigate when in other cases they just did not move and refused to investigate. Most probably they knew what will happen - they are in government- and were happy to accuse the opposition instead of taking the bull by the horns and expedite the matter without further ado.
It is the usual P.N. tactics. People should beware/ Whistleblowers beware. That is what this subject is intended to mean. There are people who have a good smell when the P.N. does something like this
Anthony Neil Pace
Nov 6th 2008, 20:16
Why do the Labourites always get in the way of everything... New Leader but the people behind him are the same.
Why do we the students of Malta, always get patronized by these sort of people.
I am a student in the main MCASTIICT Campus bldg, and it is these sort of things which ruin everything.
Please Withdraw the case for the sake of our students !!!
J. Borg
Nov 6th 2008, 19:33
Mr. Charles Camilleri
With GonziPN apologists like you.....GonziPN does not need enemies :-)
Joseph E Briffa
Nov 6th 2008, 19:02
Can anybody spell out the alleged irregularities raised by E Bartolo "in the selection of ICT centres to provide ICT courses for MCAST students" ?
J Farrugia
Nov 6th 2008, 18:02
first Varist throws spokes in the wheels and then he shouts foul. Come on. Your time is up Varist.
Marion Pace
Nov 6th 2008, 17:17
@Charles Camilleri
What do you expect, that is:
Let them change the grades as if nothing happened?
Let them use unlicenced premises, and use premises not adequate for students with special needs?
Is it true that as Ms Mary Pace is saying, that students wih lesser grades have started in September at Mcast Poala whilst others with higher grades are on the waiting list?
It is time that the Minister concerned start answering the questing.
Joseph Cauchi
Nov 6th 2008, 17:06
He who shouted “Wolf” some time ago, is now complaining!
Charles Camilleri
Nov 6th 2008, 16:34
As usual Evarist Bartolo is shifting the blame to others for causing this unwarranted delay to these students to start their courses. This is happening too often now and it seems that this is a policy of the opposition to resort to this tactic to delay Govt work. The effort done by the Govt in providing the students with courses with private centers is undone by E. Bartolo's interference.
joyce aquilina
Nov 6th 2008, 16:27
my son also is one of the unlucky students who is waiting to start his national diploma in ict and dear SIMON my son applied for mcast last year with 6 O level grades but my point is why did the privat schools have to go to the test, my son attended ,my son attented at KEY in msida and i am very happy with their way of teaching and their dissipline with the students .i hope this will soon be resolved because not all the students can attend school in summer because most of them work in summer and i think they should be compensated because afterall this is not their fault
mary Pace
Nov 6th 2008, 16:11
@swartz
i can assure you that my son has all the qualification to attend ICT course,he already done 1year at msida ,in fact there are students who do not have his qualification & they already started this ict course at poala!
P Debono
Nov 6th 2008, 15:40
It's amazing how Mr. Bartolo is delaying the project himself and now he's complaining about his own delay!! Surely this stuff only happens in Malta. My brother applied for this course 6 months ago and was as enthusiastic about it as anything. Now he's stuck inside the house doing nothing until December at least. A 17-year-old full of life and energy stuck at home like a helpless unemployed person... Where is this social conscience that you preach about?!
Simon Swartz
Nov 6th 2008, 15:36
Originally these students should not even be allowed to be MCAST students since MCAST was restricted to a few students which resulted into quality and not quantity which is not needed.
Since a year ago when the government allowed all students who applied at MCAST ICT, irrespectable of their qualifications, to be part of MCAST although going to a private school the quality of students has gone down a lot.
So wait and you will be awarded.
Marion Pace
Nov 6th 2008, 15:17
@Smicallef
Mr. Bartolo has done his duty, not like most of us Maltese who turn away and do nothing when we get to know of irregularities. He is efficicent unlike our Govt and the Contracts Appeals Board. I hope more MPs take his lead. Ahna Maltese Gemgem, biex ingergru tajbin biss, ghax xi hadd jiehu inizjativa npinguh ikrah!
S Micallef
Nov 6th 2008, 14:06
First Evarist Bartolo delays the project himself…and now he complains! Incredible!
mario caruana
Nov 6th 2008, 13:13
It should be brought to the attention of everyone that a couple of years ago, most of the ex-Technical Institutes' teachers (including those of the Ex-Fellenberg Training Centre) had to find refuge in other state schools due to the Government's 'unacceptable' work conditions offered to them prior to the opening of MCAST. Should the Government had adequately listened and given weight to what these ex-teachers were saying, these problems wouldn't have propped up in the first place or they would have been of a much lower extent.
It is really a pity and regrettable to know that many ex-technical Institute teachers, who were highly competent in technical subjects which are scarce to find, had to resort to teach in secondary schools. Our technical human resources and investment in technical and vocational education cannot be sacrificed. It is the responsibility of every Government to be 'patiently disposed' to listen to the views of others, otherwise the consequences are inevitable and conspicuous particularly when it concerns the technical and vocational sector.
D. Abdilla
Nov 6th 2008, 13:02
Well if there was no case filed by the opposition which till now resulted in nothing, I think those students would already be in.
I am student in MCAST ICT and I have 3 of my friends also who are waiting
E. Spiteri
Nov 6th 2008, 12:59
I also have a son waiting to start the ICT course.
Does anyone care about these hundreds of teenagers doing nothing, feeling
rejected, with all the consequencies in store, as week after week of idleness
is very dangerous. Where are our MP's who ALL of them should be pushing
for this case to be solved URGENLY.
mary Pace
Nov 6th 2008, 12:34
My son is one of the students, still waiting, & yet the minister promised my son he will get the lessons & time ,that are lost, I ask the minister '' how can she promise, when there is already 2 months lost, how can she give them time that are lost?? so Please do not promise, what you can't give!!! PLEASE PLEASE we parents hope the course starts soon