Government to expand tertiary level education by attracting foreign students

A government delegation this morning met INTO university group, a company which runs universities in the UK and other countries, with the hope of attracting some  3,000 foreign students to study in Malta and Gozo.

The Maltese delegation was led by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat together with deputy prime minister Louis Grech, education minister Evarist Bartolo, Gozo minister Anton Refalo and health minister Godfrey Farrugia.

Bartolo said government was very keen on exploring possibilities to attract students who are keen to come and study in Malta and Gozo, saying the project would be carried out in collaboration with the University of Malta and MCAST.

The Prime Minister said the initiative would bring together several government sectors and the respective ministers present will be take active part in the project. "We are very keen on hearing your ideas and make them work. We are convinced there is a very good preliminary analysis of the situation. The goal is to attract as many students as possible to the Maltese Islands and make use if our tertiary education system," Muscat said.

On their part, the UK-based company said using education to attract foreigners to Malta could act as economic stimulus, insisting that Malta had great potential with its historic surroundings.

The company however warned that a good strategy plan was to be developed in order to compete with other countries, where students now had an overwhelming choice from which to choose.

"The opportunities here are intoxicating and it's a pity that Malta didn't continue building on the 5,000 students which it had attracted in 2003," the CEO said.