Government, opposition clash over transfer of ITS to tourism ministry

The government and opposition clashed over legislation aimed at transferring the political responsibility of the Institute of Tourism Studies to the Ministry for Tourism.

In the parliamentary debate, PN MP George Pullicino insisted that the opposition was against the legislation, arguing that any educational institute should remain under the responsibility of the Minister for Education.

He further accused government of presenting a legislation “for rubberstamping”, arguing that the decision had been taken three years ago. The Prime Minister, he added, was not interested in consulting the opposition.

“Even the Education Minister has failed to justify this decision,” Pullicino said, in his 40-minute speech. “The minister for education will become a symbolic figure whilst all important decision will be taken by the tourism minister.”

Pullicino insisted that such a change will not prove beneficial for ITS and reiterated the Nationalist Party’s belief that such institutions should fall within the education ministry’s portfolio.

“At the same time, the opposition is aware that whatever we say is useless. This is a government that takes its own decision without consulting us. It fails to respect parliament, it has disrespected the lecturers and students and did not have the decency to even respect the tourist operators – the main stakeholders.”

Repeatedly dubbing the legislation “a rubberstamp” for government’s decision, Pullicino insisted that the presentation in parliament was “just a formality”.

In his reply, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo came down hard on Pullicino, accusing him of “a superficial analysis” and “a poor understanding” of the education sector.

“I repeat again: it is irrelevant under whom an educational entity falls. It is not the minister that makes an institute successful but it is the people who lead it, the educators and its resources,” Bartolo said.

The ITS has failed 10 out of 11 criteria in an EU quality assurance audit, ranging from the institute’s transparency to the design of its courses and information management, with some sections faring worse than others.

Bartolo said the poor result was registered, irrespective of under which ministry the institute fell.

“Irrespective of the minister responsible, the issue remains that ITS was not providing quality programmes. It is the need to tackled these criteria that will help ITS move forward … something which is already underway. Preaching about an institute being dependent on a particular ministry is a superficial analysis, showing a zero understanding in the matter. The best educational experience depends on the organization itself and on its resources … not on someone sitting in an office miles away.”

The Institute for Tourism Studies will be relocated from its current Pembroke campus to Smart City. The relocation project is estimated to cost €56 million and should herald a new beginning for the institute, which is looking at becoming an international centre of excellence and increase its students from 700 to 900.

Among proposals listed by Seabank – the sole bidders for the concession of land – a new casino and Malta’s “largest shopping mall” will replace the current St Julian’s campus. A document presented to the government in January also reveals that the developer plans to commence works on the site are projected to start on 3 October 2016 well before the completion of the new ITS campus in Smart City.