Conditions imposed on the Sadeen Group to operate a university will not change, the new head of the educational commission responsible for its licensing has said, confirming the position of his predecessor.
Godfrey Vella said the conditions imposed by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education ensured education was of the highest quality and that institutions were financially viable.
“The conditions set out to the Sadeen Group, as have been very ably detailed by my predecessor [Martin Scicluna] basically fall into these two categories and there will not be any material change in these conditions,” Mr Vella said when contacted.
The IT specialist was appointed to head the commission on August 1 after Mr Scicluna’s three-year term ended in July.
The commission has to ensure that students’ expectations are met and the standards and levels promised are attained
The commission had decided in favour of granting the Sadeen Group a licence to operate the American University of Malta from campuses in Marsacala and Cospicua. However, the commission imposed a set of stringent educational and financial conditions that had to be met.
Mr Scicluna was adamant the conditions were non-negotiable and the licence would be issued only if Sadeen accepted them.
A spokesman for the company had said it would seek a compromise with the commission. However, the company has so far made no formal submissions.
Mr Vella confirmed the Sadeen Group had not yet filed a formal reaction to the licence conditions communicated to them by the commission. “At this stage there is nothing much to report on this matter,” Mr Vella said.
Sadeen wanted to start operating this October, but at this stage it remains unclear whether this is possible. Operations will not be able to start unless they accept the NCFHE conditions.
Mr Vella said the commission’s role in this context was to ensure that further and higher education provided in Malta was of the highest possible quality.
“The commission has to ensure that students’ expectations are met and the standards and levels promised are attained. The prior accreditation and the ongoing quality assurance of programmes and courses are designed to guarantee this,” Mr Vella said.
The commission’s second objective, he added, was to try and ensure that institutions set up to provide degrees and courses spanning a number of years were financially viable, so as not to leave students in the lurch by closing operations halfway through.
Mr Vella said the new board appointed this month was expected to meet for the first time at the end of this week. Half the previous board members were retained to ensure continuity, he added.