The Nationalist Party has said that “Robert Abela’s government has lost complete control over the situation at MCAST”, following the decision not to renew the contract of its director, Professor James Calleja.
The Times of Malta reported that MCAST director Joachim James Calleja confirmed that his contract was not renewed, amid reports that he was fired on Friday. He reported that “the post-secondary institution continues to be overshadowed by ongoing industrial action, and the university remains locked in a dispute with the Malta Teachers’ Union over a collective agreement that is no longer in force.”
The Nationalist Party affirmed that responsibility for the negotiations of the institution’s collective agreement lies with both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, Clifton Grima.
In its party statement, written by PN Shadow Education Minister Justin Schembri, the Nationalist Party stated that Abela is a man “who promises and fails to deliver” and that Grima must take responsibility after failing to conclude an agreement collective with the MUT two and a half years after the previous one expired.
In early April this year, the Prime Minister declared himself “optimistic” that an agreement could be reached “in the coming weeks” during discussions on a new collective agreement.
The PN recalled how this delay is negatively affecting both students and teachers. As teachers continue to follow the Union’s directives due to apparently stalled negotiations, “thousands of students at MCAST are paying the price with their exams and grades.”
“Robert Abela, as always, evades his responsibilities and points them out to others,” the opposition party wrote. PN’s Schembri said this is evident in the dismissal of Prof. Calleja as director of MCAST, with only two weeks left in the academic year.
“This is a desperate attempt by a government that cannot solve the problems it itself has created and instead always tries to shift the blame to others,” PN concluded.
