AUM: The big elephant

he more I read what the government, its authorities and the provost have to say, the more I am convinced that not only students are being scammed, but the Maltese public too.

I have gone back to the basic documents, the deed of concession presented in Parliament and the never-ending statement that was given by the then Chairman of the National Commission for Further and Higher Education, and found some very interesting issues that so far have not really been highlighted enough and which raise many questions.

The fact that Sadeen was given two prized areas to be used and abused for their venture has obscured the implications on educational standards. The dangers of having Zonqor ruthlessly used by a private company for its own gain as opposed to its preservation and use by the public is so blatantly in our faces, that we have not had the chance to digest the risk we have taken with Malta’s reputation in education. This reputation depends solely on how well national authorities, particularly the NCFHE, manage to keep all licensees up to scratch.

Too many involved persons have been claiming that they cannot give out information because it is commercially sensitive or outright they do not think it should be given. No one, has bothered to have a conscience and realise that that information is needed for this concession to be scrutinised. Or rather they do not want this concession, one of national interest and one partly funded by the Maltese, to be scrutinised. It’s like having royal icing placed on a burnt cake.

The government has asked us to suffer this giving away of the people’s property since AUM will provide us with internationalisation of education of the highest standards. So, who is responsible for making sure that the highest educational standards are kept by AUM?

The academic operations of this university does not seem to be the responsibility of Sadeen Education Investment Limited. NCFHE’s public statement indicates that it is the responsibility of the American University of Malta Foundation. This is the first layer of the set-up the Foundation is responsible for academic operation, the company is there to develop the land and to run commercial operations. I am not surprised. After all, it was clear from the start that a contractor’s main aim is to implement commercial operations and not be boggled down with academic responsibilities.

Yet if you look at the published list of licensed institutions you will find that the licence is given to the ‘American University of Malta’ headed by Professor John Ryder. So who exactly has been licensed to set up a university? Consequently, who is responsible to fulfil the licence conditions? The commercial company or the foundation?

Some names have been cropping up as to who represents the company, but there is hardly any information available as to who administers the Foundation.

Are these people who have a sound background in the provision of tertiary education? Who knows? The university’s own website is very scant on providing information as to who is actually involved in the myriad of structures behind this venture.