Paraphrasing Shakespeare, the Malta College of Science and Technology (Mcast), should itself start asking the question: to be or not to be? The recent troubles between the college’s teaching staff and its administration have reached the headlines of our news outlet, while on Facebook and other forms of online media, various stakeholders ranging from teaching academics to students and their parents have been complaining of a malaise that seems to have taken hold of Malta’s main vocational training college.
Vocational training has historically been lacking in our country. For many years it had been considered auxiliary to academic learning. This imbalance has been addressed by Mcast. This institution, by offering opportunities to pursue technical and vocational training up to in some cases post-graduate levels, has been crucial in addressing the need to take vocational training seriously.
If anything this process needs to be strengthened and upgraded not just in areas related to the Malta Qualifications Framework but also in the sense of strengthening the relationship between education and training which shall be applicable to employment, thereby addressing and preparing solid foundations in those areas of training and education that due to various shortcomings the country is still lagging behind.
The troubles that have hit this institution can only undermine this vision, which let us not forget, was the result of the previous PN administration. Thanks to the vision of then prime minister Lawrence Gonzi and former education minister Louis Galea, a proper vocational institute was set up, catering for a much needed sector of our society.
From these beginnings we have seen the evolution of this college to a university-level one, conferring graduate degrees recognised by the National Certification for Higher Education. A vision that has given dignity to an essential sector in our educational system.
In 1840, Horace Mann argued that the proper approach to learning should be based on how the teacher recognises the limits of what can be and how far can be taught. Through timely intuition, the educator can help students find what they want on the subjects by themselves.
Lecturers at Mcast are also not deemed of the same level as those in similar institutions, and comparing their salaries is proof enough
Therefore, whoever is teaching should be able to supply them with what they need under the perspective. In other words, Mann claimed that for students to mature in their subjects, their teachers play a vital role in this journey.
Following these principals, education relies on the relationship between educator and student. Focusing only on academic content implies that we are not really understanding the significance of education itself.
Moreover, in an institution like Mcast which is leading our youths from the tertiary level of education to employment level, which in most cases requires a certain practical experience, it is vital that students are constantly guided by their lecturers. Unfortunately this does not seem to be what the current directors of this institution consider important nowadays.
The way the administrators have been treating the educators at Mcast, shows that they are not interested in fostering this spirit of collaboration and closeness between lecturer and student. The situation, which has eventually led to the MUT issuing the current directives, has been deteriorating for years, and we will not be doing justice if we do not take it into account.
In 2015, the Mcast principal, with a certain tone of disappointment, claimed that the college is not considered as equal to other tertiary level institutions, and despite much talk about parity in esteem, the situation has not changed.
Lecturers at Mcast are also not deemed of the same level as those in similar institutions, and comparing their salaries is proof enough. No wonder that their morale is at an all-time low.
And how can this symbiotic relationship be maintained with the students, if no incentives in status or remuneration are being made to encourage the staff to keep on doing their sterling work? At the same time thousands of students are victims of a situation which is not the fault of either the lecturers or the MUT.
Weeks of substantial educational experience were lost during the delicate time when many are preparing for exams and working on the last phases of their thesis. My aim here is not to delve into the directives given by MUT, but to appeal to the authorities responsible to first and foremost see that Mcast students are given the best possible education and tertiary level experience, and secondly to raise the esteem of the lecturers both morally and financially.
Justin Schembri is a Nationalist Party candidate.