Lack of resources and recreational space, maintenance, and financial struggles were some of the complaints raised this morning by representatives of the 6,500 Mcast students from all of the six institutes within the college.

The students were addressing the college’s officials, including CEO Stephen Cachia and President of the Board of Governors Silvio De Bono.

Among others, sports students complained of lack of desks and facilities such as the athletics track. Beauty care students meanwhile complained of lack of maintenance of the salons, mentioning a particular “embarrassing” incident where part of the soffit fell in the presence of clients.

Mechanical engineering students also complained of having to wait some four weeks to be able to use new equipment, such as the lathe machine, as there were only four such machines for 16 students.

Others proposed student discount prices and better management of classes that required use of limited equipment.

Mr Cachia welcomed the feedback, pointing out that Mcast was developed by utilising old buildings while new blocks were being built as the college was always running out of space because of the increasing number of students.

However, he asked students to appreciate the college’s limited budget and the fact it was continuously purchasing new equipment and refurbishing facilities.

Mr Cachia urged students to “look in the mirror” and also take responsibility for cleanliness and maintenance.

Dr Debono also called on students to do their part while committing himself to taking on board their complaints. The initiative had been a courageous initiative by Mcast, and students should continue providing their feedback, but they also had to understand that distributing the available budget was no easy task.

“My heart pains me that there might be students who cannot keep up with the expenses of the course they chose. I will be looking into this,” he assured students.