[WATCH] ‘Only rich foreigners’: University students take stand over Campus Hub profit model

Campus Hub was developed with high-income international students in mind overlooking the needs of Gozitan students who already struggle to secure housing, University student groups protested.

The hub, which was developed and is run by a private entity, is situated adjacent to the University of Malta campus.

The criticism was levelled on Friday by several student organisations that protested outside the hub against the ‘commercialisation of university’. They insisted the hub did not resolve students’ lodging and transport issues.

The poorly attended protest was originally called after the hub raised car park prices exorbitantly, a move that angered students. The private operator then recanted and lowered the fees for students but the organisations still went ahead with the protest. 

The 22 student organisations joined forces against what they described as the “bombardment of materialistic and commercial values”, that students face on a daily basis. Campus Hub is the most visual culmination of this problem, they insisted.

The organisations claimed that the increased parking costs were not only abusive but also contributed further to the problem of transportation and access.

Students were never consulted when the university purchased the land that was later sold to the private sector for profit, one student said.

Medical Student Association representatives raised the point that a new medical school promised before the pandemic started being built but works have stopped. This had to eventually replace the facilities used both on the University campus and in Mater Dei Hospital by medical students.

Medical students complained that a promised medical school has not yet materialised (Photo: James Bianchi)

While pleading with the necessary authorities to secure funding for this school and therefore finishing this project, MMSA said it is only ironic that a commercialised project such as Campus Hub was finished before the new medical school.
While part of the current public outcry stems from an exponential hike in parking prices within Campus Hub, Moviment Graffitti described this as “a symptom of the underlying problem.” 

The poor public transport system and infrastructure that have led to student car dependency need to be addressed, said the NGO.