Dishonest Evarist Bartolo sneakily lowers university requirements behind everyone’s back
Sneaky, underhand, conniving and conspiring against the interests of the electorate who put him where he is today – apparently, his loyalties lie primarily with a Jordanian moneybags and not with the Maltese public
That long-term underhanded operator, Evarist Bartolo (now Education Minister) has lowered the requirements under which a place of learning may be licensed at law to call itself a university.
Clause 9 (6) of Legal Notice No. 150 of 2015, which amends chapter 327 of the Education Act, was published quietly and without press releases or press conferences in the Government Gazette of Friday, 8th May – three days after the government signed its contract with Sadeen Education Investment Ltd.
This clause came out of the blue and is blatantly, unashamedly tailor-made to allow Hani Hasan Naji Al Salah to call his ramshackle Middle Eastern operation a ‘university’ registered in a European member state.
It is disturbing indeed that the entire legal notice which affects Malta’s national education policy, and not just the changes specific to this clause, was timed to serve the best interests of a single Jordanian citizen.
So now our education policy is being reworked to help out moneybags from the Middle East who give the government, if not actually the Labour Party, a bit of a boost. This whole thing literally screams out CORRUPTION.
The US ambassador, who represents a country with the world’s toughest laws and policing against this kind of thing, is completely mad to get involved and use her country’s image to validate it. What is she saying here – that if this happened in her own country, or if a United States business was involved, they would be investigated, but because it’s just a bunch of greasy Maltese and a Jordanian (and we all know that corruption is a way of life for Them) that’s OK and let’s avoid being judgemental about cultural differences?
The trouble – the very serious trouble – is that the University of Malta’s reputation will be hit by the same legal notice. The fact that the University of Malta predates the legal notice by generations is irrelevant. Under the new changes to the law, it can lower its standards too, and even if it does not, the perception will be that it has.
The legal notice in full is here: Legal Notice Education Act
There’s also a very good story in The Malta Independent on Sunday.