Updated | Libya to invest €22 million in educational centre of excellence

Education minister Evarist Bartolo and the Libyan minister for labour, Mohammed Swalem signed an amendment to the 1976 agreement for the sale of the land which currently houses the Libyan school in Ta Giorni.

The Libyan government will be investing a total of  €22.4 million in a educational centre at Ta' Giorni for up to 900 Libyan students.

The Centre of Excellence will provide high quality training to students and offer undergraduate courses through a new campus.

Speaking in the presence of Libya's deputy Prime Minister, Abdu Salem Algadi Bartolo said that Malta was a perfect partner for Libya because "it is peaceful, does not have hegemonic ambitions and our size is an advantage which allows us to cooperate as friends and brothers."

"We believe that if we promote our educational services, we can have a strong educational sector for other countries in the same manner we have a strong financial services sector. But we need to achieve the highest of standards to do so. We want to give a new impetus to vocational and secondary education."

The Libyan minister for labour and capacity building, Mohammed Swalem, underlined the importance of education in relation to reducing unemployment and fostering economic growth in Libya.

The director general of the Libyan higher vocational institute said that Libya was aiming at offering training and research courses which are on a par with European and international standards.

The director general said that Libya chose Malta as one of its international partners in education, adding that it was "a natural choice given the proven track record in education."

He said the centre of excellence would be providing creativity, innovation, inclusion and knowledge in training and research programmes.

The Libyan government will be investing €21 million in the new campus and a further €1.4 million in equipment on the site which currently hosts a Libyan school. The improvements to the school in Malta's Ta' Giorni will be financed by the Libyan government while Malta will provide expertise and teaching staff.

The new campus will include 16 lecture rooms and two ICT labs with the latest hardware and software such as interactive whiteboards.

A Vocational Institute will also be created. This will include a number of workshops for mechanical engineeering, electrical engineering, electronics and welding.

Finance and accounting, international relations, ICT, diplomacy, management, language studies and media studies will also be among the courses available and the centre would be teaming up with Mcast and the Malta Chamber of Commerce.

Arabic lessons will also be offered to Maltese citizens and other international students.

The centre of excellence will be built on the site of the current Libyan school in Ta Giorni on 37,000 sq metres and will also provide accommodation to 250 students.

The agreement follows the education and training deal signed between Libya and the previous nationalist government.

The agreement will be based on the collaboration between the Malta College of Arts, Sciences and Technology (MCAST) and the Libyan school. There are also plans to set up an MCAST campus in Misrata.