Applicants turned away from nursing course

DVella

Oct 9th 2009, 16:25

@A Galea

To be a blue-nose is far better than to be a brown-nose . . . I do not have an explanation about everything . . . certainly not for the many farces that this present government (or its predecessor administrations) seems intent on perpetrating. . ! Then again, I have a decent education, a very good memory and brain which allows the occasional neural activity to take place whenever I want it to, unlike some people ! !

Incidentally, just in case your political convictions are disabling your memory, most of the Doctors left Malta in the seventies after the 'doctor's strike' . . . and the reason they left . . . well one Mister Mintoff 'locked them out' because they had the temerity to exercise a fundamental worker's right against the disgusting working conditions imposed upon them by a self-proclaimed 'workers government' . . . my own uncle happened to be one of them. You really need a reality check mate!!!

Ray Gatt

Oct 8th 2009, 12:35

How many did the nursing course when we had the Numerus Clausus Dr. Farrugia. The PL has no right to complain about the university, as if they had their way the students attending would be a lot lot less and only the chosen ones

A Galea

Oct 8th 2009, 08:23

@ DVella: We can check statistics about doctors who left Malta, and you will find why they left, but as usual you like your fellow blue noses try to implicate the past. Maybe you can explain how in the 60's (if you are so keen in the past) left Malta, dnub il mejjet maybe, and no opportuinties? Says quite a lot about that past and this present government. But since you're the 'expert', maybe you have an explanation on everything!

DVella

Oct 7th 2009, 12:37

@ mark borg

you donj't seem to have a clue of what you're talking about . . . nobody said anything about 'letting them start the course' . . . the article, if you happen to have read it, concerns students that applied for the course and were not accepted.

@ michael fenech

I think you will find that the majority of those thousands left Malta in disgust during the seventies and eighties, says a lot about the government of the time no?? (!)

@ Josephine Spiteri

Why should the tax-payer foot the expenses for a surplus of qualified nurses so that the majority of them will go and work abroad?? They can always go abroad and train there if they're so hot on nursing!!!!! Free education at the taxpayer's expense can only be justified and only makes sense if it is mainly aimed at servicing the needs and requirements of the country . . . ! As for the rest, I suggest you get someone to explain what the term 'sustainable annual intake' as related to 'sustainable workforce' and market requirements' means!!!!!

Graziella Duncan

Oct 6th 2009, 23:52

Before anyone critisize pls see the facts. The govermemt / health dept. have issued a call for application for careworkers / nursing aides & health assistants to apply to do a university course for a diploma in nursing.This call for application was specifically for health & elderly department employees meaning that most or all of us were mature students. After we applied for the scolarship @ the health human resourses we were asked to apply @ the University of Malta. We had to pay the registration fee. Please note that circular was sent out on 24.07.09 which happened to be the last day that normal students could apply but our closing date was 31.07.09. What angers me most is why did the goverment issued this call when classes were already full? to get our hard earned money? Why we were not called for an interview as promised? Till todate nobody contacted us to inform us what is happening & we keep calling a IHC but staff there are giving us different versions!! I have o levels & also ECDL exams & I also did a course in childcare so i assure readers that I am not below standard of education.

Mark Cushcieri

Oct 6th 2009, 19:56

@DVella
then why did he let them start the course if there wasn't such a demand...it was always like that...i remember being 3 years in a diploma in IT when suddenly they came and told us that our certificate would not be accepted anymore by the university...because there was the new and bright MCAST institute and i was in technical institute...

Mark Cushcieri

Oct 6th 2009, 19:51

the usual story...lack of planning and vision.

michael fenech

Oct 6th 2009, 18:57

@ Tim Ripard,
What about the tens of thousands of Maltese that went abroad in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s way before Malta joined this GREAT EU.

J.Pace

Oct 6th 2009, 16:34

My friends know people who applied for the course and were accepted even with poor grades. However, many of the students who applied were rejected since they didn't have enough qualifications or grades to enter the course. At university many are saying that only those who didn't have the required qualifications weren't accepted - the rest started the course!

Michael Zarb

Oct 6th 2009, 15:37

In response to many comments to this article, in my opinion, the government should be attempting to reduce its influence over the university and liberalise the market not build a new state funded university as some people are suggesting. Think about the effect that such a move would have upon the several private companies that have begun to offer university degrees through association with foreign universities.

Do we really want to encourage more Government mismanagement of the only resource in Malta? At the same time we want taxes to also be reduced right?

Personally, I would much prefer no pubic hospitals, no public schools or universities, no stipends, no social welfare system but on the other hand pay a fraction of the taxes that I pay now.

As an Economist, I understand that we need the public provision of certain goods, especially as a small island economy, but on the other hand our situation has evolved and public services have not kept up.

Rather than just complain about both sides of the coin we should be supporting the government we elected and bravely face up to the tough decisions ahead.

Tim Ripard

Oct 6th 2009, 14:56

@ Josephine Spiteri. They would only be able to go abroad because the people did not believe Joseph Muscat when he said that the EU would mean disaster for Malta.

A. Attard

Oct 6th 2009, 14:42

@Christian Ellul
very good points

1) This is surely a political action! Why not give the solutions instead of always pointing and deceiving the people with problems?

2) Yes, we need more nurses. But we need good nurses and with certain standards! We don't need to fill the courses with students that do not reach these standards!

3) Does the LP know how many nurses enrolled this year? It seems not, because the diploma in nursing alone has over 100 students! Add those with the B.Sc.(Hons) and you get about 200 students for this year alone!

4) Say 1,000 lies and surely everyone will believe one of them. Gaining votes from illusions.

Josephine Spiteri

Oct 6th 2009, 14:24

Dear DVella,
At least , if they are given the opportunity to study to be trained nurses, and eventually they graduate, and then they do not find a job in Malta, at least they will have a qualifiction with which they can go to work abroad. If they are not given the chance to do the course, they will have nothing. They will neither be able to work in Malta and nor abroad.

DVella

Oct 6th 2009, 13:29

As usual, Lejber is not telling the whole story and trying to mislead the public to gain some cheap political capital . . . . why not quote how many students were accepted and give the figure for an annual sustainable admission for the course????

After all, if we had over 200 nurses graduating every year we would end up with a surplus of trained nurses within a few years . . . ! Oh yes . . . then we can criticise the Nasty Nationalists because there are a large number of unemployed nurses!!! GET REAL, Lejber !

Godfrey Camilleri

Oct 6th 2009, 13:02

It is gaffes like these that will be turning the floating voter away from the PN.

Christian Ellul

Oct 6th 2009, 11:27

I recognize the fact that their are limited number of spaces for nursing students. One has to note that in order for a sudden increase in students to be accepted adequate human resources have to be recruited by the University. We must remember that we live in a very small country, qualified manpower etc., capable of offering academical teaching at advanced level for these nursing students might be limited in number. For a sudden influx of students to be accepted the university should have started preparing for the required manpower and facilities from well ahead! Lets not forget that until very recently nursing students averaged around 50 yearly, we simply cannot wake up one day and decide to multiply, triplicate etc the numbers!
It is true, it's the governments duty to ensure resources, but we shouldn't blame the government for everything. The governments role is to ensure that the university is supplied with the required financial and other resources. But than it should be the Universities hierarchy which decides what are the priorities. Before blaming the government lets get a closer look at the efficiencies of the University!...afterwards we can pinpoint the exact problem...this political attitude is no solution.

Joseph Vella

Oct 6th 2009, 11:23

My son is presently studying at MCAST for the National Diploma in health Studies with the aim of progressing to study as a nurse. Lack of teachers or worst still inexperienced teachers, lack of classrooms are the norm at MCAST for persons following this course. To make things worse, they now have to face this dilemma that they are never sure that they can continue their studies at the Universtity.
Is this the kind of motivation we are offering our children?
I hope no brain washed person in this blog will tell me that the government has no funds to employ extra lectures. What about the 2.5 million euros being spent on a bridge (harbour metal bridge) leading to nowhere?

James De Giorgio

Oct 6th 2009, 11:01

If this is true, then the country is in a very sad state indeed. If the nationalists feel it isn't worth it making every effort for the country (perhaps due to feeling at a loss on how to win the next election), they should step down in grace and give the country a viable chance of alternative government. We can't be frightend by Alfred Sant any more.

Gerard Cassar

Oct 6th 2009, 10:53

Perhaps it is time to open a second University once the only one in Malta is overcrowded.
It will even give the opportunity to create a sane rivality. It may cater for certain courses not readily availabla at the present one. The population has grown from 250000 to 400000 and will steadily continue to rise, hence more students will seek entrance to higher studies. It could offer th opportunity to make it more democratic than the present one.