Updated 7pm with government reaction
The delayed reopening of the Ta’ Qali animal hospital is jeopardising the veterinary course slated to start this academic year, the PN claimed on Thursday.
Shadow minister for animal welfare Janice Abela Chetcuti and shadow minister for education Justin Schembri told the media that the hospital project was a dream of the PN, which 12 years ago had recognised the need for Malta to have an animal hospital open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The animal hospital closed last year after a number of machines suffered extensive damage from a power surge.
Education Minister Clifton Grima and Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo had said it would reopen at the start of the current academic year and serve as a campus for students training as veterinarians. But that reopening has been delayed, for undisclosed reasons.
Grima told Times of Malta the hospital is expected to open in 2025, at which point students will be able to utilise it for their practical training.
But the PN on Thursday said the hospital remained neglected and abandoned by the government.
Schembri said there were also many unanswered questions about the course offered by MCAST in collaboration with the UAB (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona).
He called on the government to confirm whether the course had the approval of the Veterinary Regulatory Council in Malta so that warrants for practice could be issued.
"To date, the eight MCAST students starting the course do not have the assurance that they will be granted the warrant, and it would be irresponsible to start the course as planned if it is not accredited," Schembri said, adding there was a lack of consultation with the Malta Veterinary Association over the course.
Government reacts
In a statement, the Education Ministry said the government had already made public all the information about the course and the hospital.
The ministry said 29 people had applied for the Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine course, but only eight qualified.
They will start the training in November - local and international lecturers will hold face-to-face and online classes.
The government had also consulted with the Veterinary Surgeons’ Council and met with the Malta Veterinary Association over the matter.
The ministry added that the government had issued a tender for the operation of the hospital and the premises should open their doors once again in 2025.