A 25-year-old PhD scholarship candidate is opening a court case against the Education Minister after she was disqualified on what she believes were unfair grounds.
Antoniette Grima applied for a scholarship within the framework of the Malta Government Scholarship Scheme (MGSS) after being accepted to read for a PhD at University College London (UCL).
She holds a Master of Science degree in geoscience from UCL, for which she was awarded a distinction, as well as a first class degree in geography from the University of Malta.
However, she was not deemed eligible to receive the scholarship after the MGSS board failed to award her sufficient marks in a number of categories, including ‘previous experience’, ‘impact on national development’ and ‘the availability of expertise in academia/economy’.
Unable to afford the tuition fees, Ms Grima will be missing “a golden opportunity” to advance her studies, which would also benefit the country.
The people who examined my application and who interviewed me have no experience
The court application signed by Andrew Borg-Cardona noted that Education Minister Evarist Bartolo did not exercise his power to overrule the board’s decision.
In her affidavit, Ms Grima said she was assessed by a group whose professions had nothing to do with her studies.
“The people who examined my application and who interviewed me have no experience in geoscience, geography or even geophysics and therefore cannot understand or appreciate the importance of this doctorate.” The MGSS regulations state that the board shall, where and as necessary, appoint an expert with expertise in the subject area concerned to evaluate the application. This rule was not implemented.
Regarding her low grading in the ‘previous experience’ category, Ms Grima noted she had a year of experience in the National Museum of Natural History, experience in coordinating and delivering evening lectures in the geology of the Mediterranean basin as well as spending a week as a geologist on the research vessel OGS Explora as part of a team of researchers.
Additionally, she holds two degrees for which she undertook a number of fieldwork projects around Europe.
Ms Grima also said that Janet Mifsud, who interviewed her together with Emanuel Sinagra, behaved in a way which indicated that there already was a predisposition to reject her candidature.
“Prof. Mifsud seemed distracted during the interview. This was clear when she asked me a question which had already been asked by Prof. Sinagra and which I had already replied to. Prof. Mifsud did not notice.
“Despite the fact that I tried to speak of my experience in geography and geophysics, Prof. Mifsud ignored me and interrupted me numerous times to insist that my everyday work was not related to the sector.
“This is despite the fact that I tried to explain numerous times and even dedicated my free time and holidays to carry out geological work.”
The first hearing will be held on Monday. Ms Grima has to give the UCL a reply by January 12.