Following KSU being appointed and Petra Grech being elected in KPS election last Wednesday, this evening student representatives will vote at KSU Common Room to elect a Commissioner of Education for the term 2018/2019.
The two candidates are Jean Claude Scicluna and Hanien Alouzi. The Third Eye asked both Alouzi and Scicluna a series of questions and the following are Hanien Alouzi’s answers as to why she should be elected as a Commissioner of Education.
What motivated you to be a candidate for this role?
My motivation to contest for this role stems from my experience here at University. These past few years I involved myself in all forms of activism on campus, both in student organisations, namely AIESEC in Malta and SĦS as well as being a student representative on both the Board of Studies and on Faculty Board, both these experiences resulted in me being involved in, not only the Education Commission, but also the Social Policy Commission. The thing that has always pushed me to take on role after role and challenge after challenge is the fact that I genuinely and truly believe in the value of the students’ voice. That is why I always made sure that mine is heard and that through it the rights of students are safeguarded. I also believe in the voice that the Education Commission has and how that voice can play a crucial role in protecting the students’ rights and pushing for their wellbeing.
In your humble opinion, why do you think you deserve to be entrusted with this role?
I deserve to be entrusted with this role because first and foremost, I have the passion and motivation to safeguard students’ rights and through this motivation, I know that I will work tirelessly and endlessly for the students. To complement this passion, I also know that I possess the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out the responsibilities of this role to their fullest potential. The aforementioned experiences that I have had, did not only show me the importance of the students’ voice, but they also helped me develop my skills, communicate better, approach issues critically as well as solve problems efficiently and effectively, among many other invaluable skills. Apart from that, one thing that I hold close to heart, is the importance of feedback, input and even criticism from the people I work with and from those I represent. In all my roles I have always worked to develop a form of feedback culture with my fellow members in Executive Boards as well as the students I represent to ensure that I am always representing them in the way that they want to be represented.
What are your aims if elected?
My primary aim is to strengthen the voice of the Education Commission and increase its relevance to the student body so that they can be more involved in it and contribute more to it. Through attending KE meetings it was always evident that attendance can be improved and that more voices can be present. I intend to take on a personalised approach to amend that by approaching the members personally, to get their feedback, take their input and make the commission relevant to them. I want to also support the student representatives through training and through building their knowledge so that they can represent their students in the best possible way, as this way we will be ensuring that in all Faculties, Institutes, Centres, and Schools there is an informed and well-equipped individual that will stand up for the students. Continuity is also of utmost importance to me, therefore I intend to build on the work that the previous Education Office has done. In the previous year, the commission (in conjunction with KPS) has contributed to many initiatives including the consultation document of the University of Malta Act, Ensuring Civic Education is on the national agenda after the introduction of Vote16 as well as strive to get the Students’ Charter reviewed among many others. These initiatives matter on a national level and can have a huge impact on current and prospective students and it is incredibly important to ensure that they are followed up on. My aim is also to work, as I said I previously, through the input of the students. Simply looking at my candidacy for this role, I made sure to let student representatives know what my proposals are and that their feedback is incredibly valued. The proposals that I have put forward were not complete without the feedback of the students that I have met and spoken to in the past few days. Through this feedback, I learnt that students struggle to fulfill their academic responsibilities because of mental health issues, something that is often overlooked. It was also made clear how their respective Faculties, Institutes, Schools, and Centres do not understand how this struggle affects their academic achievements and how this can impact attending lectures and fulfilling the means of assessment. I also got feedback on how to make the Commission more relevant through creating thematic KE meetings tackling a specific issue and inviting the relevant student body and student organisation to that meeting in a personalised manner to ensure their input. I am incredibly grateful for the feedback that I received and aim to ensure that it is implemented should I be elected.
Despite several attempts to communicate with Jean Claude Scicluna with these same questions, he unfortunately failed to answer our various messages and hence we are publishing only the answers we have received.
Nonetheless, we wish luck to both contestants for this evening’s KE Election.