The Prime Minister’s description of both the controversial American University of Malta and the University of Malta as “brilliant institutions”, effectively putting them on the same level, has prompted anger among students and lecturers.
They say that comparing the two undermines the integrity of the University of Malta and its thousands of students.
Joseph Muscat on Tuesday likened the AUM to the University of Malta, adding that he saw “traces of success” in the former, despite it having fewer than 20 students and very few, if any, lecturers.
A spokesman for the University Students’ Council, KSU, told this newspaper: “As a students’ council we feel such comments hinder and undermine the long-standing success of the University of Malta.”
He added that the students fear such comments put the university’s reputation at risk. “The University of Malta is a highly esteemed university at a global level, and seeing it compared to a university which just opened its doors and with just a few students enrolled does not do it justice,” the spokesman went on.
The KSU believes that the two universities “can never be compared”, especially since the UoM is a State university, while the AUM is private.
“It is absolutely not right to think that a university that opened its doors in 2017 could be as much of ‘a brilliant institution’ as one that has such a long history and success story and that shaped some of the most brilliant minds our country has seen,” the council said.
The AUM planned to open its first academic year with over 300 students but only managed to attract 15. None of the students are fee-paying, and most have been awarded scholarships by the AUM’s owners. The university now aims to attract about 150 students for the next academic year.
Earlier this month, all AUM lecturers were dismissed just days before the start of a new term and warned they could face suits for damages if they spoke to the media on what was happening.
Following news of the dismissals, the Opposition called on the government to return the ODZ land at Żonqor – to be used for an AUM campus – to the public.
Meanwhile, lecturers who spoke to this newspaper expressed disappointment that the controversial university and the UoM were equated in such a way by the Prime Minister, insisting the American University of Malta had a long way to go before it could be labelled “brilliant”.
Head of the communications department Ġorġ Mallia said that the University of Malta’s “centuries of excellence” spoke for themselves.
“The AUM hasn’t begun yet. So it really is eminently ridiculous that it be called ‘brilliant’ when its very short track record is the very opposite of that,” Dr Mallia said.
“Prime Minister Joseph Muscat sought to get a lot of political mileage from the AUM, which turned quite sour when the whole environmental issue exploded and then when the AUM itself let him down with an incredibly poor showing and the fact that it’s becoming an industrial hell for academics to work in.
“However, it’s always worth a shot to go with the old spin adage of ‘if you say it long enough, it might stick’. His comment about his conviction that the AUM is brilliant comes from there,” Dr Mallia said.
Another lecturer, who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, said that students and academics tended to be impressed by and attracted to “a solid track record in academic matters and not pies in the sky”.
“The UoM is a very good university with a long history that still has some way to go before it becomes brilliant, while the AUM in Malta has not even started being a university in the true sense of the word, let alone a brilliant one,” the lecturer said.
For the University of Malta Academic Staff Association (Umasa), comparing the UoM to any other university was difficult, as it was the island’s “national university”.
In comments to The Sunday Times of Malta, Umasa president Jean Paul Baldacchino insisted the association would not comment on the standards of other universities, adding simply that it had confidence in those of the University of Malta.
Dr Baldacchino emphasised that the role of the University of Malta was unique and therefore it was difficult to compare it to any other.