Lecturers’ union says university budget cuts must be carried out ‘intelligently’

Lecturers’ union head Professor Luciano Mule Stagno has said budget cuts at the university must be carried out diligently to ensure research is not impacted.

“We have to ensure that major operations are not impacted by the cuts,” the University of Malta Academic Staff Association head (UMASA) said.

The University of Malta has been informed that its budget for this year is being reduced by €1.1 million as part of government’s spending review.

In an internal communication, UOM Rector Alfred Vella informed faculty deans on Tuesday that the university’s recurrent budget has been reduced.

He also informed them that the UOM’s budget for next year is likely to be kept at the same level as this year after the cut.

According to the budget estimates for this year, the UOM was allocated €89.3 million.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Mule Stagno said the union is yet to issue its official position on the announcement, as it only learned about the decision earlier on Tuesday.

“We understand that this was imposed on the university, but we are currently concerned on where these budget cuts will be carried out, and what their impact will be,” he said.

One of the union’s main concerns is research, which not only sees funding for individual projects, but the maintenance and upkeep of certain tools used in that research.

The union will be meeting with the university’s rectorship in the coming days, and suggestions will be put forward, according to the union head.

Asked whether the UMASA was expecting these cuts, he said there were only ‘hints’.

“In the last couple of days we did hear that some budget cuts would be rolled out, and given the country’s current deficit, we did expect something, but we did not know of any figure,” he said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the PN spokesperson “condemned” the university’s budgetary cut, accusing the government of being stingy.

The PN spokesperson said the UOM, which is already operating on a restricted budget, faces cuts that will shackle its professional development.