No nursing applicants refused university place, University responds to union claims

“Numbers on both nursing courses cannot be finalised at present as the University must wait for the results of the MATSEC resits which are normally published at the end of September,” the University of Malta said.

MUMN claim some 100 people with the necessary qualifications will be left out of the course, and that 540 vacancies still need to be filled in the national health service.

“The total number of 165 applicants will be accepted on the two nursing courses (B.Sc. [Hons] Nursing and the Preparatory Course for the Diploma in Nursing),” the UoM said.

“This figure is based, as the University has explained on many occasions, on the number of clinical placements and the number of mentors available to the student nurses.  Clinical placements in paediatrics and maternity are particularly difficult to fulfil and such placements are being used to the absolute maximum.  To stretch these placements any further would jeopardise the standard of the education provided to students.

“The University would like to clarify that applications were received up to the published deadline of 23 July 2010 at 12:30pm. Only those who tried to apply online after the deadline, for any course with a limited number, were informed that applications could no longer be accepted.

"In fact, this is very clear from the number of individuals who submitted their application for Nursing courses up to the deadline, which amounts to 228. This is contrary to what MUMN has stated, that when the limited number of 140 was reached, the University refused any further applications online.”