Pluralism in tertiary education is a reality with the University of Malta, Mcast and a number of international universities accepting students through institutes licensed to teach in Malta. It is the setting up a framework that is still missing which will put private institutions on solid ground to participate in this very important sector for the well-being of the economy.
Such a framework will push the already high standards in tertiary education to an even higher level and offer students and industry a wider choice of qualifications, without continuously having to dip in the taxes to foot the capital bill for such development. And it's not just the capital costs - the annual salary, consumables and utilities must be paid from an ever dwindling budget which cannot remain to be in deficit for ever.
The answer for this to happen is for the government to transform the current financing of the tertiary education model. The current system where the state institutions' capital and variable costs are directly and fully financed must change.
Maltese students will have the opportunities they have today, applying for state assistance which will take the form of a scholarship. This scholarship will include a portion which currently is paid as stipends and maintenance grants, payable in exactly the same way, while the other portion will be the established fees, capped by the government according to the cost at the state institutions, payable to a tertiary institution of choice of the student. Students will immediately have a much wider portfolio of quality qualifications to choose from. This is already obvious when one considers what the private sector is providing today.
The difference is that even if a young 17-year-old student feels that his or her career would better be served by following a degree from one of the private tertiary institutes, he or she has to afford to pay fees.
This situation usually results in the student opting to read for a degree which is not really his/her main wish at a state institution simply because this is free of charge, even though such a course is costing the taxpayer a minimum of €6,000 in tuition costs per academic year per student.
The current financing model does not contemplate for state institutions having excess funding to invest into the future needs of the programmes.
The state will remain in a position, through its tertiary institutions to offer a portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, thus ensuring a continued support to the need of the economy. The number of students currently at the state institutions if it is to remain constant will allow the state institutions to consolidate.
The private sector is diversifying, and the scholarship scheme will offer an opportunity for students who seek such diversified studies to continue with their studies, without being a higher burden on the state. It will be up to the private institutions to invest in the infrastructure necessary - such as classrooms, specialised laboratories, specialised libraries integrated as part of a national library system and most importantly the development of human resources to meet the demands of the new degrees.
The state institutions will have a period of transition, where the government will continue to contribute to the capital costs apart from the tuition fees injected through students choosing state institutions, until a time when these institutions will be financed purely through tuition fees.
On the other hand, the private tertiary institutions are more aggressively active in attracting international students to this country, which have been deemed ideal for this enormous international industry.
Private institutions will be enabled to attract paying European students to these shores, unlike the current state of affairs where all EU citizens get free education financed with the compliments of the Maltese taxpayer.
Such a change which will be neutral to Maltese students except to offer a wider choice of programmes, will save millions of euro to the taxpayer, generate hundreds of high-end lecturing jobs, and increase the injection into the economy of millions of euro in tuition fees and ancillary expenses of international students.
It is calculated that 2,000 international students will contribute a minimum of €12 million in tuition fees every year to the economy, and much more in accommodation, transport, entertainment and subsistence.
This is an opportunity that Malta can ill afford to miss. Neither is this a situation where involved parties identify divisive issues - rather this, like the time of the enactment of the financial services laws, should be an opportunity where all will act in tandem for the betterment of Malta and its society.
The author is the principal of St Martin's Institute of IT.