A new year has rolled over and there’s still no resolution in sight between the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) and the government, and MCAST students are fearing the worst, but refuse to give up the fight.

With over 9,500 students enrolled across all campuses, all are facing academic turmoil as the ongoing stalemate bleeds into the end of the first semester when mid-yearly exams are to be held.

Students are now facing the threat of having their grade-defining exams altered or cancelled entirely.

“Previous students completed two exam sessions in a single academic year. However, students now are facing a disadvantage as they will have to sit for semester-based exams at the end of the year. These full-year exams will be weighted at 100%, compared to the usual 60% combined with assignments,” explained Ayrton Cassar, a final-year Mechanical Engineering student who’s been a primary voice for the students.

Regardless, either option would end up shifting the quality of the marks provided, “failing to fully test students and resulting in lower-quality graduates.”

“As students, we are not asking for special treatment. We are simply demanding the right to complete our education,” Cassar reiterated, “This deadlock is denying us our basic academic responsibilities.”

Less than five days remain until the student-led petition for the demand of immediate action to ‘end the academic limbo’ expires. Having accumulated 926 signatures at the time of writing, out of its 1000-signature goal, the petition has been described as “a rallying point” for student advocacy since its launch in November.

From parliamentary discussions, that led to direct engagement with the government and the opposition, to countless protests, with large audiences of students and lecturers alike both on campus grounds and even in front of the Ministry of Education.

However, despite their efforts, students are currently and will remain in the crossfire between the two parties until a proper collective agreement is finalised – stuck in the proverbial “academic limbo.”

What do you make of the ongoing disputes?