American University of Malta head silent on changes to academic staff

John Ryder has declined to comment on reports that the American University of Malta has axed its academic staff, telling MaltaToday the spring semester will go ahead as planned.

Ryder said he would not comment "on personnel actions, whether specific or general", when asked about reports the AUM had ended the contracts of all its academic staff.

"Operations will continue and we will go into the spring semester as planned," Ryder said, adding the university had received paid deposits from new students, expected to start their studies later on this month. He did not say how many new students were joining AUM this month.

The university has been plagued by a low student take-up with Ryder confirming late last year the AUM had to lower its own expectations. The AUM started its first academic year last October with only 23 students, a far cry from the 300 that had been projected. It has lowered its forecast for the new academic year that starts in 2018 to 150.

But Ryder declined to describe the situation "a problem" when asked about the poor student recruitment. "I wouldn't say it is a problem but it is a challenge. We do not have a domestic market so recruitment has to come from abroad and we are a new institution," Ryder said.

According to the academic calender published on the AUM website, student classes for the spring semester start on 15 January. Orientation visits for new students are expected between 12 and 14 January.

The AUM currently operates from part of its campus at Bormla's Dock One. Construction work on the rest of the buildings that will eventually form part of the campus are ongoing. However, the AUM also has a concession to build a much larger campus at Zonqor Point in Marsaskala.

The Nationalist Party last Tuesday filed a parliamentary motion to have the land at Zonqor returned back to the public, in the wake of AUM's failure to attract enough student numbers.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Education Minister Evarist Bartolo have both said that works at Zonqor should only start after AUM's Bormla campus is used to full capacity.

PN reacts

The Opposition has said that the dismissal of AUM workers confirms that the use of ODZ land is a waste.

“While the government is insisting that the ODZ land Zonqor is necessary for the American University of Malta project,  the Jordanian company has dismissed more of it’s teachers,,” the Nationalist Party’s statement said.

“This proves that Zonqor should be given back to the public, as the Opposition and a number of other environmental organisations have insisted.”

The statement said that a University with 15 students does not need 18,000 squared metres of ODZ land, apart from the historic building in Bormla. “The way in which 12 teachers were dismissed through email also shows that there is a lack of professionalism in the university’s administration,” the PN said.

“The Nationalist Party again insists that this is a bad deal for our country. As the Sadeen Group is ignoring contract, the government should take control of the situation and give the land back to the public.”

The Opposition said earlier this week that it wanted Zonqor land returned to public.