[WATCH] Minister denounces 'ferocious attack against MCAST's integrity'

Minister denounces MP's 'ferocious attack against MCAST's integrity' • Video by Ray Attard

MCAST possesses the necessary internal structures to self-accredit its own Masters courses, education minister Evarist Bartolo insisted.

Addressing a press conference at MCAST, Bartolo dismissed allegations to the contrary by Opposition MP George Pullicino as "an unfounded and uncalled for ferocious attack against MCAST's integrity".

"If Pullicino had been properly informed, he'd have known that the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE) granted MCAST the status of a self-accrediting institution in 2012, shortly before the general election,” Bartolo said, recounting how the then Labour Opposition had agreed with the proposal.

A legal notice published in May allows MCAST to offer courses up to Level 7 (Masters’ degrees, Postgraduate degrees and Postgraduate certificates), whereas it had previously only been deemed fit to offer courses up to Level 6 (Bachelor’s degrees). That same legal notice has gained notoriety amongst the Opposition benches for having lowered the standards required for educational institutions to get recognized as universities.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday during a debate on whether that legal notice should be revoked, Pullicino questioned whether any studies had been carried out before the government allowed MCAST to offer Level 7 courses. 

“MCAST will obviously be more credible if its programmes are accredited by an independent institution,” Pullicino said. “We are not against MCAST’s self-accreditation at this level, but we must ensure that the process is carried out with as high a quality as though it were being carried out by a foreign institution.”

However, Bartolo retorted that the NCFHE recently carried out its first-ever audit of MCAST, the University of Malta and the Institute of Tourism Studies, and that MCAST had performed “positively”.

MCAST Principal Stephen Cachia told MaltaToday that he was convinced that the decision to allow MCAST to start offering Level 7 courses would be justified when the NCFHE publishes its audit results.  
 

‘Bartolo wants to stop Opposition from asking questions’ - Pullicino 

In a response, Pullicino vehemently denied attacking MCAST and accused Bartolo of trying to stop the Opposition from asking legitimate questions.

“Was the proposal [to allow MCAST to offer Level 7 courses] issued at MCAST’s own request?” Pullicino asked. “If this is the case, the minister should table any studies that were carried out on this proposal in Parliament.”

He questioned whether the NCFHE had provided any researched recommendations to this proposal, whether Bartolo had verified that MCAST had the necessary structures and academic profile to self-accredit Level 7 programmes, and whether MCAST itself had taken any steps to ensure that they are in the best possible position to self-accredit such programmes.

“These are legitimate questions that the Opposition has the right to ask to ensure that MCAST maintains its level of high quality,” Pullicino said. “Bartolo is trying to use a state educational institution to attack the Opposition.”