PN urges Education Ministry to find solution for university students denied physical lectures

The Nationalist Party has urged the Education Ministry to do all it can to enable all university students to attend lectures physically.

Education spokesperson Clyde Puli said space should be found on campus for all students to “enjoy the experience and benefits of university life in full”.

He said university students also represented a cohort with a high vaccination rate.

University students are lamenting that not all of them will be able to attend physical lectures since there is not enough space on campus to accommodate the larger groups.

The University of Malta has leased the Gateway Building to the health authorities for use as a COVID-19 emergency area at least until January. The building houses some of the UOM’s largest lecture halls, apart from smaller rooms.

In some courses, large halls will be required to accommodate students in line with COVID protocols that stipulate a distance of 1m between students.

The lack of space means that some students will resort to online learning in the first semester.

Three student bodies wrote to Prime Minister Robert Abela with their concerns. They lamented the “double-standards” being adopted with standing events being allowed to take place without minimum distances. “It seems questionable as to why university students cannot be guaranteed a return to campus,” the organisations said.

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