University lecturers are informing their students that some of their lessons are going to be held at the Junior College in Msida this year as there are no available classrooms at the campus in Tal-Qroqq.

Irked students from the department of social well-being told the Times of Malta that in recent weeks, their lecturers informed them that tutorials, where larger groups are split up into smaller ones, would be held at the Junior College. The students were told that this was being done because there were no available classrooms at the University at those particular times.

When the students complained that the time needed to get from one place to another could prove to be a problem, especially if they had other lectures before or after, they were told they were free to find alternative venues themselves and propose them to the lecturers.

It is not always possible to identify a slot and a venue which fit in with the students

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According to the students, the majority of them were turning up late as a result, not only missing the lesson themselves but also disrupting the entire class.

'Complex operation' 

Contacted about the matter, a spokesman for the University confirmed that four tutorial groups from a psychology class were being held at the Junior College.

“With hundreds of lectures being held every week on the main campus, it is not always possible to identify a slot and a venue which fit in with the students’ timetables,” the spokesman said, pointing out that scheduling of lectures at the main campus was a “complex operation”.

Apart from the main campus, lectures are also held at the Medical School and the Faculty of Health Sciences at Mater Dei Hospital, at the Institute for Sustainable Energy in Marsaxlokk and the Valletta Campus as well as at the Junior College, he went on, noting that all these venues formed “an integral part” of the University of Malta.

Last year, the Times of Malta reported that lecturers were being forced to hold lectures in their offices or to postpone them as the number of rooms available on campus could not cater for all the lessons.

Lecturers had at the time complained that finding available space was a struggle, especially when trying to sort out venues for smaller groups, as is the case when tutorials are held.