Updated: Bartolo calls on University Senate to give equivalence to vocational BTEC’s

Bartolo was speaking during a press conference on the introduction of vocational qualifications in secondary schools.

He explained how in the UK, the BTEC qualifications had been given the equivalence to two GSCE’s, which are the UK’s SEC equivalents.

Bartolo explained that the University Senate would be meeting in the near future to take a decision on the equivalence of vocational BTECs to the SEC exams.

“If the Senate does not give a similar equivalence to BTEC’s, then we would be giving a very bad signal to all those students who pursue vocational qualifications rather than academic subjects”, Bartolo lamented.

Bartolo reiterated the Labour Party’s position that while it was in favour of the introduction of vocational BTECs in the secondary state level, he was not in favour of students having to pay a €900 fee for the three year course.

“The justification that the Education Ministry was giving for the introduction of a fee by comparing it to the fees paid to the MATSEC exams did not hold water,” Bartolo insisted.

He added that while SEC examination fees are paid at the end of the course, BTEC’s fees are paid at the beginning of the three-year course, and were nine times as much as SEC fees.

He explained that vocational BTEC’s would offer more practical education to those students who did not attend Junior Lyceums but attended only Government secondary schools after the closure of the Trade schools.

He expressed his confidence that the Malta Qualifications’ Council, led by Chairman James Calleja, would not create any obstacles for the adequate recognition of vocational BTECs.

However, the University of Malta was still seeing vocational qualifications “in a negative light” as part of its turf war with MCAST, Bartolo charged.

Bartolo revealed that in the UK, the Government pays for the entire BTEC for vocational students in the secondary sector. He called on the Maltese Government to “do the same” and fork out the fees for under-16 secondary students attending state secondary schools.

Bartolo also criticised the fact that these vocational courses, which will start at the 2011-2012 academic year, have been introduced “without any consultation” with teachers and MUT, the Teachers’ Union.

Bartolo revealed that MCAST had to offer its own top-up degrees after there was “no agreement” between the University of Malta and MCAST on the equivalence of its diploma courses.

At the same time, MCAST qualifications were recognised in other EU Member States under the EU’s Qualifications Network.

“It is easier for MCAST students to study in a British University than at the University of Malta,” Bartolo insisted.

Bartolo revealed that a tracer study published by the National Commission for Higher Education (NCHE) in 2009 showed that up to 40% of secondary school students did not continue with their post-secondary education.

Moreover, at tracer study conducted in 2008 showed that out of 1,000 students in state secondary schools, 600 (60%) did not continue with their post-secondary education.

PN reiterates denial that students would have to pay for vocational conference

In a reply issued less than two hours after the conclusion of Bartolo’s press conference, the Nationalist Party (PN) reiterated its position that students for vocational courses would not have to pay for these courses.

“Despite the categorical denial by the Ministry of Education that students would have to pay for vocational courses… the Labour shadow Minister today repeated this lie”, the PN’s reply insisted.

In strong-worded statement, the PN Information Office accused Bartolo of “continuing to repeat this lie” in a “weak attempt to continue sowing doubts and confusing minds.

The PN also accused the Labour shadow Minister for Education of, in this way, “showing lack of respect for students and parents” that were now focused on the choices that they have to make for the next scholastic year.

In its reply, the PN also claimed that Bartolo’s press conference was “totally devoid” of concrete proposals and vision on the Education sector.

This, the PN claimed, showed that the PL “did not have any vision on education”, which was the key to employment and the best recipe for a better Malta, as it did not have “any vision on job creation”

The PN added that during his press conference, Bartolo repeated his negative mantra when he spoke about the education sector tried to “give an impression that Malta was suffering from a crisis in the education sector” and trying dent “the success of various Nationalist governments in the education sector”.