I recently attended the consultation meeting between the University of Malta Academic Staff Association and the Ministry of Education on the proposed University of Malta Act. It was refreshing to see the vigour with which my fellow academics discussed the proposed changes and I was also impressed with Minister Evarist Bartolo’s open-mindedness to listen.
Since the consultation document was published, I have been searching my soul (and the internet) for what a university should represent. I came across Cardinal Newman’s essays on The Idea of a University, first published in 1852, approximately 100 years after the establishment of our very own university in Valletta.
Interestingly, I found myself instantly disagreeing with Newman’s description, specifically with the point that a university should focus on being a seat of teaching and learning rather than the extension of knowledge through research. One must keep in mind the context within which this was being written; during a time when there were several research academies flourishing under the auspices of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of the Fine Arts.
Cardinal Newman goes on to say: “To discover and to teach are distinct functions; they are also distinct gifts, and are not commonly found united in the same person... The greatest thinkers have been too intent on their subject to admit of interruption; they have been men of absent minds and idiosyncratic habits, and have, more or less, shunned the lecture room and the public school.”
This kind of thinking may have been one of the consultation paper’s starting points. The paper proposes a new governing body (as opposed to Council, which is informed by other committees), essentially a consecrated quintet, answerable and moreover, for the large part, selected by the ministry, which would be given even more latitude to determine the University’s financial future.
Academics (including the rector) are absent from this body, but the rector may be invited to attend some of these meetings. Shouldn’t the rector lead this governing body, since his role is to measure the pulse of the University’s organism, and drive it forward with a vision? A vision that is not only the remit of bean-counters but more importantly one which moulds the future leaders of our society? Shouldn’t the rector and pro-rectors be selected from within the academic body, rather than thrust upon the institution from outside?
This consultation paper seems to pave the way for the University to become nothing more than a school of tertiary education
Secondly, and maybe more in line with Cardinal Newman’s discourse, is the lip service paid to the research carried out at the University. While mentioned perfunctorily early on, research seems to be relegated to a secondary function of the University.
It is clear that this consultation paper seems to pave the way for the University to become nothing more than a school of tertiary education.
The academic autonomy, and the very essence of the University as an institution that creates knowledge, must surely be threatened by such a governing body. One could easily imagine a situation where a governing body decides that needlework is an academic discipline that the University should engage in, and only approve funding for such a course.
So what is the idea of a university?
In my opinion, its role, first and foremost in a place like Malta, is to further the knowledge base of its people and foster our indigenous intellectual capital. The imparting of knowledge is a close second, but with online resources so readily available, attention should be paid to inspiring students to pique their interest, rather than the mere repetition and communication of these resources.
The formation and education of its graduates must lie mainly in the hands of the academic body. A governing body (if at all necessary) should be made up of academics, voted for by academics and chaired by the rector. Its goal should be independent of government and should aim to reflect a long-term plan – five years at the minimum, instead of the proposed three – for the country’s educational and research needs.
Research has a crucial role in what is the only university in Malta. While other teaching colleges may sprout and flourish, it is essential that the university develops and extends our current understanding in the natural sciences and arts. Creativity and learnability must be the pillars of a university education. Independent of the subjects studied, graduates must be exposed to team-building methods and research methodologies; they should be infected with the bug of creativity and be able to apply the knowledge learnt across a vast range of disciplines.
The minister pointed out that consultation with the academic body was important, and repeated that everything was on the table. The Royal Society’s motto – nullius in verba (take nobody’s word for it) – instantly comes to mind, but time will tell. I suppose, in the meantime, it is a step up from an alternative, which would have been to encase the university’s position and character in law without consultation.
Quoting from the same article of Cardinal Newman: “There is a demand for a reckless originality of thought, and a sparkling plausibility of argument; a demand for crude theory and unsound philosophy, rather than none at all.” And it is this demand that should be the main focus of our national university in the 21st century.
Kristian Zarb Adami is an astrophysics professor at the University of Malta and the University of Oxford.