In order to understand the American University of Malta debacle, it is only right to take a look at the trajectory of the story, by considering its educational qualities. It all began as a lie, intended to deceptively inflate the prestige of the project.
Spin has always been an attribute of the Joseph Muscat government and thisproject is no different to other instances of hot air and deception.
This project has got everything but substance in it; it is all about development with adverse environmental consequences and nothing to do with education.
It was reported by the Labour Party’s online newspaper The Malta Star on May 5, 2015, that “the agreement for the setting up of a new university in Malta was signed this morning at the Auberge de Castille by Economic Services Minister Chris Cardona and Jordanian investor Hani Saleh, who has teamed up with DePaul University of Chicago”.
That report was nothing but spin in order to give the impression that the American University of Malta is a joint project between Saleh of the Sadeen Group and DePaul University in Chicago. However, DePaul’s contribution to the project is far less than what has been claimed by the government and the Labour media.
It was reported in Malta Today on May 16, 2015, that DePaul University had expressed its honour at helping the American University of Malta to establish its curriculum, which is most definitely a far cry from what the government and Labour were saying their contribution was going to be.
It is clear that the Sadeen Group has cooked the whole thing up together with the Maltese government and that DePaul University has very little to do with the whole project.
Obviously, there wouldn’t have been any need to lower standards had DePaul University in Chicago or any other established university decided to establish themselves in Malta.
Yet, this was not the case with the American University of Malta, as requirements were lowered for the accreditation of universities and the Education Actwas amended.
Rather than the American University of Malta living up to our high standards in tertiary education, we are expected to lower our standards in order to accommodate a Jordanian business group with no past experience in running universities. The group has boasted on its website of having “recorded a sizable growth in the field of construction, travel and tourism”.
Spin has always been an attribute of the Joseph Muscat government
It also boasts that “the group is a graded class in building construction both on commercial and industrial RCC, pre-engineering building, water treatment and plant construction”.
My question is therefore: where does education come into it except for them “providing students [primary school children] with balanced, integrated, and differentiated learning experiences conductive to promoting motional and social aspects to the student’s personality”?
This is fine but is certainly not an attribute for running an accredited university. No wonder standards had to be lowered to the detriment of our reputation.
Then, comes the cherry on the cake, when Education Minister Evarist Bartolo described the American University of Malta not as a university, but as a higher education institution (could be a sixth form or polytechnic) which rubbishes the government’s claim of attracting another university to Malta.
The government doesn’t even know, or rather would not even tell us, what kind of institution is going to be built on ODZ land at Żonqor.
If we are to look at the whole storywe might say that all that remains is one lie after the other, from DePaul to the institution being called a university and its accreditation.
As Bartolo said in Parliament in the night-long debate on the project, “the object of the motion was the transfer of land and properties to Sadeen Investments Ltd”.
My question is: is this the only thing about the project minus the education?
My fear is that the whole education aspect is just another invention and time will tell. I do only hope that I am mistaken.
Justin Schembri is a Nationalist Party election candidate.