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Students At MCAST Left In The Dark As Teachers Strike Following MUT Directives

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Several students from the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) have come forward to shed light on the troublesome situation they are currently facing following directions from the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) to strike due to a lack of proper funding.

Teachers have not been taking attendance and passing them on, which has resulted in many students not being given their stipends. As well as this, exams and assignments are not being corrected. In the long run, this means that certain certifications will not be awarded if the marks aren’t accounted for, and this could result in students not being able to graduate.

“Assignments and examinations are not being corrected and marks are not being distributed, meaning that without marks and feedback, us students are unable to determine whether we need to sit for synopsis test at the end of the year.”

Students are unsure of their exam timetables

Another student came forward claiming that the start of their exams have been delayed by two weeks, set to start on February 6th instead of January 23rd, meaning that exams will likely clash with lectures from the second semester. Furthermore, the start date for these exams is still to be confirmed, meaning students are being left in the air as to when they will be sitting for their exams.

“Students have the right to know when exams will be held at an early stage to organise their studies well. However, this is certainly not the case at MCAST as in a matter of just three weeks, the students were faced with 3 different dates for exams to begin.”

Currently, certain lectures have been put on hold until the situation is resolved, and only ‘year based’ units will be followed.

Lecturers were following instructions and directives from the MUT until certain issues were resolved

Since last year, lecturers have been informed by the MUT to follow certain directives due to MCAST’s lack of resource funds and other financial benefits. Lecturers have not been paid for these benefits for the last two years, some amounting from €1,000 to €3,000, with MCAST promising these funds by end of 2020. They have also found faults in their payslips, which has also affected their right to take bank loans, as without proper payslips, banks are unable to comply.

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However, these issues should be resolved very soon

Spokespersons at MCAST have stated that “things should be back to normal soon”, as lecturers are meant to be receiving their salaries tomorrow, including the benefits they are owed.

MCAST officials have been in meetings with the MUT for many weeks attempting to resolve these issues and smooth things out. As of right now, they are waiting for the MUT to lift the directives. Staff and officials are currently doing all they can in order “to provide the best possible service for the students and improve their environment”.

What do you make of this situation? Let us know in the comments and tag an MCAST student

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