Simon Busuttil has called on everyone with objections to the siting of the new university project to “unite and speak up while still in time to save the area”.

During a meeting with students at the University of Malta this morning, Dr Busuttil said that while the Opposition supported investment in education, it should not ride roughshod over environmental concerns.

He said the while it should not be the Opposition’s job to carry out studies for alternative sites, one such site had been identified at the former Petroleum Division in Birżebbuġa.

A motion for a feasibility study had been presented by PN councillors in Birżebbuġa, but the motion was rejected out of hand by the Labour-majority, raising questions as to the sincerity of the government’s openness to alternatives, he said.

Also speaking during the meeting, shadow minister for education Therese Commodini Cachia said the deal appeared to have gone through with a lack of consultation and transparency.

She also questioned whether the government’s stated commitment to increasing investment in education would include the public university, and whether the focus on new “world-class programmes of study” would create two tiers of education.

Following news that the government had lowered the requirements for educational institutions to be considered universities, Dr Commodini Cachia also expressed concern over the impact on the reputation of established service providers and their graduates.

The meeting was attended by representatives of various student organisations, including the student council KSU.

The media was not allowed to follow proceedings while students made their interventions.