AUM’s external quality audit is ongoing, Education Minister says

Government is committed to ensure that the American University of Malta fulfils all its contractual and licencing obligations, Education Minister Justyne Caruana said.

She was replying to a parliamentary question by Opposition education spokesperson Clyde Puli on the external quality audit the educational authorities had to undertake of the institution.

Puli asked whether the minister was going to publish the audit report.

“The external quality audit by the Authority for Advanced and Higher Education is ongoing,” Caruana replied, adding that government was committed to ensure that contractual obligations imposed on AUM “are adhered to in their entirety”.

The AUM, run by Sadeen Education Investment, has operated a campus in Bormla since 2016. Parliament approved the transfer of public buildings in Bormla and a large tract of land at Żonqor in Marsaskala to the company in December 2015 for the operation of a university.

Mired in political controversy, the university still struggles to attract students despite its promise to bring over 4,000 students.

However, it still wants to develop an extension at its Bormla site and a fully-fledged campus on pristine land in Żonqor.

A planning application for the extension of the Bormla site was rejected and is currently being appealed. The company has also filed a planning application for the Żonqor site.

Former education minister Evarist Bartolo had said in 2019 that the AUM should not be allowed to develop the Marsaskala site unless it first operates its Bormla campus to full capacity.