Changing the legal notice affecting university accreditation means Malta could welcome a commercial entity without any substantial educational mandate to conduct business as a university, according to the teachers’ union.
The Malta Union of Teachers expressed concern that the amendments would change the definition of a university to such an extent that accrediting entities would not be in a position to ensure licence holders were operating a university according to established standards.
The union pointed out that it was an international norm that an entity awarded the title of university should be multidisciplinary, with different faculties, have taught programmes, have a continuous strong research element and support an element of outreach in the host community. The proposed amendments, however, mean eligible entities in Malta will be able to ignore three of the four criteria, free to adopt just one.
“In reality, this means Malta will potentially open its doors to commercial entities without any substantial educational function to operate as a university.
“Another implication is Malta will operate a definition of ‘university’ which is different from the established norm in most countries, putting the country’s academic reputation at risk. Moreover, the union doubts whether Malta currently has enough resources to monitor what goes on inside all higher and further education institutions,” the MUT said.
Malta will use a definition which is different from the norm inmost countries
It said it was also extremely concerned that applications for university status would also be considered by the Commission for Further and Higher Education “if the application is in the national interest”. This, the union stressed, was completely unacceptable because it meant academic licences might be awarded on an ad hoc basis regardless of international academic standards.
The union would have expected a proper study to be conducted to ensure that the University of Malta, the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology and the Institute of Tourism Studies did not lose foreign students to private institutions, especially if these were primarily of a commercial nature. If this happened, local educational institutions with long traditions and good repute would end up with financial difficulties that could make it impossible for them to operate successfully, the MUT warned.
Reacting, the Education Ministry said that in no way were standards being lowered, because the accreditation and licensing processes remained “largely unchanged”.
New regulations now ensure that universities in Malta and Gozo have the required fully-qualified academic staff and must go through a rigorous quality assurance process regarding their programmes before they are allowed to operate. Also, their students and academics must undertake research.
Applying in the national interest did not exonerate educational institutions from the obligations of offering good quality courses, research programmes and good academic governance, the ministry said.
International trends showed that new universities were being established with specialised programmes in one or a few areas.
The quality and standards of a university did not depend on the amount of programmes and faculties but in the way such programmes were run and delivered, it added.
Meanwhile, the Opposition said it would not withdraw its motion to annul the changes to the process of university accreditation in Malta. The motion was filed last week and seeks to reverse changes to the minimum requirements for any university to be eligible to start the accreditation process.
On Sunday, the Prime Minister called on the Opposition to withdraw its motion after commission head Martin Scicluna last week said quality standards were unchanged.