Many suspect that the financing model of the University of Malta is no longer fit for purpose. Lack of sufficient funding means that economies have to be made in areas like research and development as well as infrastructural facilities.
Politicians rarely, if ever, question the sustainability of a free tertiary education system where tuition is not only free for all those coming from the European Union but stipends are paid to students to encourage them to complete their studies. Free education is one of the sacred cows of Maltese politics. The University administration is left to try and find creative means of making both ends meet in their budget management.
University rector Alfred Vella came up with the idea of defending the Maltese language by making proficiency in it a requirement for students who want free tuition and stipends. He makes an almost rhetorical but provocative question: “What if we were to introduce a requirement saying anyone who is eligible on all the criteria, including Maltese, would not pay fees and would get a stipend?”
His attempt to link this idea to the preservation of the Maltese language is well intentioned but can be controversial. The backdrop to the proposal is a realisation that the medium- and long-term financing of the free university system is not sustainable and needs to be re-engineered if tertiary education is to be built on solid foundations.
There are cases where students need to be proficient in the use of the Maltese language. Healthcare specialists, teaching, social work and law graduates have to work with the local community that, in most cases, prefers to communicate in Maltese. The rector was pre-emptively cautious when declaring that “the University is seeking legal advice on the matter as it in no way wants to discriminate between Maltese and non-Maltese students”.
The European Commission will, no doubt, have an opinion, or be pressed to express itself on whether such language requirements are indeed necessary on an academic basis or are simply a barrier to treat foreign students differently from their Maltese counterparts.
Maltese and English are both official languages of Malta. In many fields, qualified professionals need to be fluent in both languages if they are to serve the local community effectively.
The risks to the Maltese language come not from its dwindling use by the local community but from the poor grasp of the written and spoken language of students as a result of cultural and educational failures. Perhaps even more worrying is the inability of many people to communicate well in English – a language that is our life link with the international business, social, and cultural community.
The University of Malta will do well to help mend the damaged educational system that is affecting the ability of students to communicate well in both English and Maltese.
The rector is justified in fretting about the way his organisation is financed. However, the most effective way to bring about change is to persuade the political administration to fork out more money for the upkeep of the free educational system.
The University needs an inflow of foreign students to build cultural synergies with local students. Language barriers to university entry do not help create such synergies.