Education shadow minister Therese Comodini Cachia.

The Opposition is to file a parliamentary motion to repeal changes made to the Education Act, which it claims will erode Malta’s excellent reputation in tertiary education.

Education shadow minister Therese Comodini Cachia told The Sunday Times of Malta the motion will be presented tomorrow and is aimed at repealing a number of clauses in Legal Notice 150 published earlier this month. The law amended the regulations governing the licensing, accreditation and quality assurance in higher and tertiary education.

The Opposition is also claiming the changes are intended to make life easier for Jordanian investors intending to set up a university campus called the American University of Malta. “We don’t have any issue with clauses that increase the penalties in case of a breach in license and give Masters recognition to courses being offered by the Malta Council of Arts Science and Technology,” Dr Comodini Cachia pointed out.

“Our concern is that these changes will lower the minimum standards across the board to the detriment of established institutions including the University of Malta,” she said.

The PN will be mounting a challenge on four counts. First, the minimum number of Masters degree programmes to be eligible to set up a campus in Malta was reduced from six to four. Secondly, it is no longer necessary to provide doctorate courses in at least four different fields.

Another major concern being raised is that institutions failing to meet the set criteria may circumvent them, as the National Commission for Further Higher and Education has been empowered to give university status if this is deemed to be in “the national interest”.

“The fact that the Commission issued a statement endorsing these changes raises serious questions on its autonomy and it forcefulness to resist any interference from the Education Minister,” she said.

Dr Comodini Cachia said another change which might have serious long-term repercussions was that universities were no longer obliged to both disseminate knowledge and carry out research, as either of them would be enough to be granted a licence.

The Education Ministry on Friday denied such a claim insisting that research would still remain one of the main essential pillars in tertiary education certification.

Dr Comodini Cachia also said a distinction should be drawn between a university which as its name suggested engulfed a wide range of fields, and an institute which specialised in certain subjects.

“The Institute of Arts in London has much more prestige than any arts faculty, but it cannot be described as a university. Are we sacrificing standards to make it easier for foreign investors to make money? Education should not be treated as a commodity,” she said.