It was revealed this Monday that the Engineering Board had decided unanimously on the amount of credits allocated to the Pre-Warrant Qualification Course that was to be introduced and made compulsory for MCAST Engineering students, regardless of talks that were held with the Chamber of Engineers [CoE].
In a press release issued by the CoE they explained how a number of meetings had been held with the Engineering Board from which the following conclusions were drawn:
- The past MCAST graduates should bridge any deficiencies through targeted bridging studies comprised of 60 ECTS credits at level 6 with examination based assessment. These bridging studies should be reviewed by external reviewers
- The new MCAST courses should have 240 ECTS credits at level 6 again based mostly on examination assessment as well as being reviewed annually by external reviewers
Regardless of these agreements, the Engineering Board informed the CoE that the pre-warrant course would be only of 30 ECTS credits Level 6. This meant that MCAST Engineering students would only be doing a total of 150 ECTS credits at level 6 rather than a full 240 ECTS credits that was required by law to get a warrant and that University students were doing.
This was a continuation from last year’s controversy which broke out because MCAST students were going to be given warrants regardless of the discrepancy between the UM and MCAST courses. Whilst the UM course is of 240 ECTS MQF Level 6, the MCAST course consisted of 120 ECTS MQF Level 5 (first and second year) and another 120 ECTS MQF Level 6 (third and fourth year).
Following talks between KSU, UESA, the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects and the Engineering Board in September 2018 it was agreed upon that the underlying principle behind this process of introducing a Pre-Warrant Qualification Course must remain “one profession, one standard”. This is why UESA and KSU are in agreement that moving forward these courses should be made equivalent by any means and not have half the intended course substituted by 30 ECTS.
When contacted by The Third Eye, Matthew Xuereb, outgoing UESA President [who is in office till the end of May] gave his statement in light of how the situation is developing:
UESA believes that any solution related to this issue must be realised in a spirit of transparency such that the interests of our members are safeguarded.
Having said this, we look forward to further dialogue with the hope of resolving such a sensitive issue. In the meantime UESA is considering all options available to safeguard the interests of Engineering students at the University of Malta.
Both KSU and UESA have published press releases to voice their concerns as to how this agreement was disregarded without any further consultation with the stakeholders involved.
UESA have asked for an immediate revision of the currently ongoing Pre-Warrant Qualification Course “so as to ensure that students who complete this course are in possession of such degree of the University of Malta or an equivalent academic qualification as stipulated in the Engineering Profession Act.”
The lack of transparency, consultation and the refusal by the relevant authorities to recognize and address the serious concerns of students, graduates and warrant-holders alike risks damaging society’s trust in the engineering profession.
UESA, University Engineering Students Association
UESA continued to stress how this lack of transparency is increasingly prevalent considering that MCAST has apparently also refrained from publishing any details about the bridging studies course, with no mention of such course in its annual prospectus.
KSU echoed UESA’s laments and both stated that looking forward they are actively considering all options available to safeguard the interests of our members.
The Chamber of Engineers concluded that an EGM shall be held in the coming days to give the opportunity to everyone to express their views on the way forward from here.
