The University Students Council (KSU) has pledged to come out against a government proposal to shift the powers currently vested in the Rector into a board controlled by the Prime Minister, warning the proposal endangers the institutional autonomy of the national university.

“We believe the proposal for all members of the governing board to be chosen by the Prime Minister endangers the institutional autonomy of the University,” KSU said in a position paper. “As is mentioned in the consultation document itself, the University as an institution requires autonomy to function effectively.”

The shake-up to the University of Malta’s management was included in a consultation document for a planned University Act, which was published in April – just before the election campaign

As envisaged, a new governing board will be tasked with approving the University’s plans and decisions, including its annual budget, academic plan and business plan. The board will be chaired by the University Chancellor and will include between three to five members – all directly appointed by the Prime Minister. According to the document, this is being done “because the institution is publicly funded”. 

KSU warned the proposed shake-up threatens the University’s institutional autonomy

The Rector will not be part of this board, but will be “encouraged to attend meetings whenever he is invited to do so”. Instead, the Rector will form part of an executive board, alongside a chief operations officer and a non-academic chosen by the University Council. This executive board will get to formulate strategic and institutional plans for the University, but will first have to send them to the governing board for approval. 

The government’s document argues this proposal is on research of European higher education institutes and on the best rated universities in the world. However, in a document seen by Lovin Malta, the KSU countered by citing research which questioned whether governments have sufficient insight into the needs of university governing boards.

“The concern here is that if all members of the board are appointed according to the criteria listed in the document, the board will have no expertise in managing an academic institution and no understanding of the needs of such an institution,” KSU said.

The KSU will present its proposals to education minister Evarist Bartolo tomorrow

Instead, the KSU has proposed keeping the governing board but minimising the influence of the Prime Minister by only allowing him to appoint two out of its five members. The other three will be the Chancellor, the Rector and the Chief Operations Officer. The executive board, the students’ body said, should be binned entirely.

The proposal is one of several which the KSU came up with in a document following consultation with University student organisations and student representatives. They will present the document to education minister Evarist Bartolo tomorrow during a consultation meeting – open to all students – about the proposed University Act.

Bartolo has said the proposed management structure is open to discussion and that he is ready to take on board proposals intended to make the University of Malta more accountable and transparent.

After Lovin Malta published a story yesterday, shadow education minister Therese Comodini Cachia warned the Labour Party’s history with the University of Malta is repeating itself – ostensibly a reference to the student-worker scheme under former Labour Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. 

In a tweet, PN MEP Roberta Metsola said: “Clearly, allowing an institution outside his government’s control to advocate critical thinking has upset Malta’s Prime Minister”. 

Sociology lecturer and PN councillor Michael Briguglio went a step further, lambasting the government’s proposal as a form of “thought control.

“It’s great that government is giving a wage increase to teachers, but at the time time it is proposing to eradicate the University’s autonomy,” he said. 

Partit Demokratiku MP Marlene Farrugia described the move as the next step in the “Orbanisation” of Malta, a reference to Hungary’s Prime Minster Victor Orban.

“Malta ‘s race to the bottom…the Orbanisation of Malta continues,” she wrote. “The regime is tightening its grip on ‘ autonomous’ institutions. People, speak up.”

What do you make of this proposal to the University of Malta? Lets us know what you think in the comments’ section

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]