Ensuring quality degrees

Parliament is shortly planning to upgrade regulations governing the licensing of private higher and tertiary educational institutions, the absence of which to date has resulted in unfounded suspicions on St Martin's Institute of IT.

Thankfully, the setting up of the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre at the Ministry of Education has offered a consoling voice to those in doubt of the validity of the degrees being read at our institute, but once the law is debated and passed by Parliament the issue of the right of existence in a state-monopolised sector in the Maltese education chain will have been resolved.

St Martin's Institute of IT has a total of 400 full-time and evening students. It has a track record of a minimum of 50 per cent first class honours graduates and 30 per cent second upper graduates over the past five consecutive years. The fact that the majority of our successful students have been branded as low achievers by other Maltese academic institutions what makes the institute's results even more noticeable.

Our achievement relies on persistency at every level of the institute, starting with a team of lecturers committed to the students' well-being, a management team creating the best possible learning environment, and a university which sets clear learning outcomes for its students.

St Martin's has absolutely no involvement in examining its students - examination papers are set by the University of London examination board, with the Education Ministry's Registrar of Examinations taking care of the examination process, sending all students' scripts back to the University of London for correction by the examiners' board. Each script is scored twice, by two separate examiners while a third examiner moderates. The examination system is transparent and fair.

St Martin's is aware of its role in raising the standards of what is already a high tertiary standard of education in Malta. We recently published a code of ethics for our academic staff.

This process of quality assurance is in line with the legislative upgrading planned by Parliament. St Martin's Institute believes that its development relies on the new legislation which should put in place a framework whereby each tertiary and higher education institution is regularly vetted by an independent quality assurance organisation on the same lines as the QAA of the UK.

This eliminates any lax attitude towards students' well-being and deterioration of standards in the quest to attract students. A high calibre tertiary education institution cannot be set up overnight, and care must be taken by our Parliamentarians on the framework that will confer awarding powers to an institute.

To ensure the improvement of standards in the sector, Malta must enact legislation which will attract the very best universities to set up campuses, not those seeking legislation of convenience which would have devastating consequences on the island's reputation.

Mr Theuma is principal, St Martin's Institute of IT, Ħamrun.