Mcast’s €3 million Institute of Business and Commerce was inaugurated by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Education Minister Evarist Bartolo this afternoon.
The institute, which started hosting students today, forms part of a larger project on the Paola campus.
Since 2011, €20 million were invested in the institutes of business and applied science, a car park, sport facilities and a student house, which will be finished by next year.
The next phase of the development will include the main square, a library and the ICT institute.
Mcast Principal Stephen Cachia said this infrastructural development and the review of curricula over the next two years will keep breathing life in Mcast so that the college remains relevant to the country’s needs.
This was reiterated by Silvio De Bono, president of the board of governors, who said although the building was important, more important were the college’s foundation courses.
Mcast was also building bridges with the University of Malta and other foreign universities.
Dr Muscat said the Paola campus development was “one of the good projects that were started in the past legislature”.
He called for more synergy between the University of Malta and Mcast and said there needed to be greater commitment on a national level from the institutions to work hand in hand.
Dr Muscat noted that the government was looking into investing in a campus in Gozo to give the campus “dignity and visibility”. He urged administrators to maintain the flexibility they have also shown, especially when there was a vacuum in the local market and the college had to provide new training.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo also spoke about the Gozo campus.
“It is not acceptable that the Mcast in Gozo gets the leftovers - with a section in the Xaghra Primary School and another in the Xewkija Primary School.
“We don’t want to give the impression that we’re investing in institutions and not in Mcast, while at the same time encouraging students in Gozo to take up courses at Mcast.”
He also spoke on the importance of strengthening not only the infrastructure of the buildings but also Mcast’s role in the education sector.
There were still a lot of early school leavers, so childcare centres and kindergarten services needed to be strengthened to provide students with a better introduction to the education system.