‘A Tragedy Waiting To Happen’: ‘Chunk’ Of Ceiling Allegedly Falls Metres Away From MCAST Students Waiting For Class
A block from a ceiling allegedly fell just metres away from students awaiting a lecture at MCAST.
“While waiting for a lecture today in Block M, a huge chunk of ceiling fell just a couple of metres away. If someone was standing underneath it, it would have been a huge tragedy,” a student of the Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST) told Lovin Malta.
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David* reached out to the newsroom to speak about the conditions of their longstanding learning environment, arguing that it is “not safe at all” and despite concern shown by both students and teachers, nothing has been done, according to the young man.
He explained that while no one got hurt, this was a “tragedy waiting to happen”.
“If that part of the ceiling fell 15 minutes later, between lectures, someone would have gotten hurt because a lot of students would have been waiting in that spot.”
Moreover, David explained that he reached out to multiple members of staff who form part of the administration and Directorial Staff, as well as the Ministry of Education.
They’ve received two responses so far one stating “Yes, it’s being taken care of”.
“In my opinion, this is not a viable response. This should have been something that was taken care of as this is a severe issue where a tragedy is waiting to happen.”
“The conditions where students wait on a daily basis for lectures are not good.”
Students further alerted the Ministry of Education.
Images sent to Lovin Malta show the chunk of the ceiling, as well as the state of the nearby corridors.
The newsroom has reached out to both the Ministry of Education and MCAST – it is currently awaiting their reply.
*The names in this story were changed to protect the identities of students.
UPDATE: David informed Lovin Malta that lectures for some students on 22nd October were cancelled while starting from Thursday 23rd, all lectures will be held online.
Meanwhile, MCAST also reached out to the newsroom and said:
“Maintenance work in this area has been ongoing since 10 November. Following the Occupational Safe and Healthy Authority inspection on 21 November, MCAST will appoint an architect and civil engineer to further inspect and assess the premises’ stability.”
“Until the official report is published and clearance is granted, the area will not be used for educational purposes, and the remedial works will continue. The health and safety of our staff and students is a priority and MCAST will ensure the least disruption possible to teaching and learning.”
Have you ever experienced something like this?
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