Cynthia Busuttil
German sociologist who resisted Mintoff's education reforms dies
German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf died on Wednesday, aged 80. Photo: AFP
German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf, who died on Wednesday night aged 80, had tried to put an end to the student-worker scheme introduced by the Labour government in the late 1970s.
"Others elsewhere in the world have tried such a scheme and failed. It produces either unhappy workers or under-qualified students, or both. It adds nothing to education or to social integration," Prof. Dahrendorf had told then Prime Minister Dom Mintoff in a letter in 1978.
After resigning from a Royal University of Malta commission he chaired, Prof. Dahrendorf said he could not continue to be identified with higher education policies, which "offend my values, are out of line with my experience and contradict the recommendations which I have made in the past".
In the letter, dated June 6, 1978, he told Mr Mintoff he could no longer advise him on higher education, either informally or as a member of the commission.
Later that year, he wrote in the Higher Education Supplement of The Times of London that Malta's University had come under considerable pressure "and one must wonder whether it will survive the next two years, let alone 200".
This public tiff with Mr Mintoff "had a big psychological effect" in Malta, philosopher Fr Peter Serracino Inglott said when contacted yesterday.
"He (Prof. Dahrendorf) was very much against the student-worker scheme and this continued to diminish its popularity," Fr Serracino Inglott said.
The then Labour government still went ahead with the reform and the student-worker scheme - which saw students studying for six months and working for the rest of the year - was introduced in 1978.
"The government wanted a scheme that would allow students to understand better the subject they were studying because they would have the opportunity to work in that field," Philip Muscat, who was Education Minister at the time, recalled.
Prof. Dahrendorf met Mr Mintoff in 1970, when he visited the island as a member of the German government, and according to Dr Muscat the two became "big friends".
"But he did not agree with the reforms."
According to Fr Serracino Inglott, the German sociologist was willing to make a number of concessions, including agreeing to pass on the Argotti botanical gardens from the hands of the University to the Agriculture Department. "He was ready to make concessions in issues he thought were not of principle," he said.
When he was awarded an honorary degree in 1992, Prof. Dahrendorf said the University had gone through a difficult time and lost a lot of its autonomy after his resignation.
When Prof. Dahrendorf landed in Malta he had been picked up by Fr Serracino Inglott, who was University rector at the time.
"They had just changed the roads around the airport and I went round and ended up in the same place," Fr Serracino Inglott said, adding that the German sociologist was laughing and later wrote about the experience.
Fr Serracino Inglott described Prof. Dahrendorf as an original sociologist who was not a follower of either Karl Marx or Max Weber, the founders of sociology.
"He remains most famous for his belief that we are living in a post-liberal democracy and believed the biggest political problems are moral ones, mainly revolving around bioethics," he said, adding that Prof. Dahrendorf also believed these issues should not be decided through a referendum because they were too complicated.
President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami described Prof. Dahrendorf as a "leading personality" and a great sociologist. "He was very influential," he said.
Prof. Dahrendorf was a member of the German Parliament, a Parliamentary Secretary of State in Germany's Foreign Affairs Ministry, and a European Commissioner.
Prof. Dahrendorf was governor of the London School of Economics and adopted British citizenship in 1988.
He died of cancer in Cologne.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
Petrol price up 6c
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Second group of migrants arrives
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
6 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Rocco Camilleri
Dec 18th 2011, 11:49
Although Profs; Ralf Dahrendorf had the every right to agree or disagree with the system (Student worker Scheme) but one has not to forget that he surely was not infallible. The Student worker Scheme was a milestone for all those engaged in it to experience practical (hands - on) the area being studied. It gave them more confidence in their studies before finding themselves on the job. Most of them who had will completed their studies with success and graduated.
Rocco Camilleri
Dec 18th 2011, 10:58
Although Profs; Ralf Dahrendorf had the every right to agree or disagree with the system (Student worker Scheme) but one has not to forget that he surely was not infallible. The Student worker Scheme was a milestone for all those engaged in it to experience practical (hands - on) the area being studied. It gave them more confidence in their studies before finding themselves on the job. Most of them who had will completed their studies with success and graduated.
Jimmy Magro
Jun 20th 2009, 21:23
The worker-student scheme was an innovative educational system at that time. It gave students the opportunity to learn during their job experience. Working at the MDC, I used to have a umber of students under my responsibility and I always engaged them to the same level of engagement I had at the Corporation, including negoatiations with foreign delegations and local stakeholders. I also ventured to take one of the students on a business trip with me as part of an official delegation. How many students can boast of this experience now.
From hand son experience, I understand that even the university students are not satisfied with learning theory only - which is quite different than having work experience. The UoM also lacks the use of case studies in its tachinf methodology. Having studied in a number of Universities overseas, case studies have become an important tool to put students in the "driver's seat" and really push the buttons that matter.
Learning formulas, books, dates etc by heart is not the only method of learning in 2009. More use should be made of placing study material online as well as taking online subscribtions on behalf of the students for common use.
Alfred Farrugia
Jun 20th 2009, 18:15
With reference to the student-worker scheme [there was also a worker-student scheme] Prof. Dahrendorf was not completely correct. He under-estimated Maltese students and workers. He was of course partly right concerning the implementation of the scheme, particularly its rigidity and the lack of preparation of some of the academic staff. I had lecturers who had practically the same qualifications as I did in economics, to mention just one subject. Overnight, some lecturers at MCAST found themselves “new” university professors, without further training. But then there were other lecturers and professors who were academically qualified and experienced. It all depended on the students themselves whether they wanted to get the best out of the circumstances. I am grateful to Lino Spiteri who accepted my appeal to join the scheme. I subsequently read for a Master’s degree in European Studies at Sussex University, and completed all the taught Ph.D. courses at George Mason University in the US. I have taught introductory undergraduate and graduate courses in conflict analysis and resolution at GMU, and peace studies at Goucher College.
Several colleagues are happy workers or qualified students, or both. The worker-student scheme was not perfect. Prof. Dahrendorf was great but not infallible.
Joe Azzopardi, B. Eng., M. Eng.
Jun 20th 2009, 13:53
"Others elsewhere in the world have tried such a scheme and failed. It produces either unhappy workers or under-qualified students, or both. It adds nothing to education or to social integration."
Lest Prof. Dahrendorf's opinion be taken as gospel, he was obviously unaware of the University of Waterloo (http://uwaterloo.ca) in Ontario, Canada which has always had a co-op program with alternate study and work terms. Its engineering/computer science programs are ranked amongst Canada's highest and world-class firms including Microsoft/Google/etc. regularly recruit UofWaterloo grads.
As for the Student Worker experiment: I joined the very first cohort in 1978 and while the program certainly needed some tweaking back then, the concept served me well. The engineering education and experience I received have allowed me to compete, and succeed, at the world-class level. After graduating, I completed a Master in Engineering (which included courses at the UofWaterloo) and have worked for Fortune 500 firms in North America.
I was lucky enough to catch up with some of my former classmates last year, many of whom now hold senior positions in private industry and government in Malta. From my perspective, the Student Worker scheme was a success, despite Prof. Dahrendorf's (and this article's) opinion.
Miriam Cassar
Jun 20th 2009, 12:30
As regards Profs. Dahrendorf, I can only say, God rest his soul. Of note is the fact that, the Melbourne government of Australia has long since been practising the student- worker scheme under the TAFE Colleges. My son was a student at one such college- Boxhill TAFE five years ago. The whole 6 month course (payed by us parents), helped him gain not only a Merit Certificate, but work experience and a whole perspective through the mix of nationalities present in his class. Well done Boxhill TAFE.