Students attending the Malta College for Arts Sciences and Technology will be protesting on Friday after union directives for their lecturers left them without their exam results.
Jordan Galea Pace, a student representative at MCAST's Institute of Business Management and Commerce, said that students were tired of being used as sacrificial lambs in disputes between the Malta Union of Teachers and the college management.
Students had sat for exams in November and were sitting for other exams now but will have done so for nothing, Galea Pace said.
The MUT has an ongoing trade dispute with MCAST regarding negotiations for a new collective agreement. The dispute concerns the delays, as negotiations between MUT and MCAST have been going on for two years.
Lecturing grades at MCAST are currently following a directive issued by the union last year, whereby they are refraining from publishing exam marks.
“The MUT hopes for a solution to this situation so that negotiations are expedited. MUT thanks MCAST delegates and members for their support,” the union said in its last update on the dispute.
In a video posted on social media, Galea Pace said rumours were circulating among students that the February resit exams will not be held or will be postponed to summer.
Galea Pace added that students were supporting their lecturers’ demands but did not want to be left in a state of limbo.
In a video statement, Kunsill Studenti MCAST said it stood with the students on this matter and will be joining Friday's protest.
Earlier this week, the council said it was concerned about the impact the MUT directives to MCAST lecturers was having among students at the college.
“The lack of assessment results and feedback for work being done is leaving us students in the dark about our progress in our respective courses,” it said.
“The absence of timely information hinders our ability to plan and make informed decisions about our academic journey. KSM remains committed to advocating for the rights and well-being of students and will closely monitor the case, urging both MUT and MCAST to prioritize the needs and well-being of students in their negotiations,” the council added.
Meanwhile, Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech said that MCAST students deserved better and had a right to get their exam and assessment results.
In a post on Facebook, Grech said that education was a priority for the Nationalist Party.
“Our country needs a government that takes education seriously, but it is evident that Robert Abela is not interested in education in our country,” he wrote.
“The Labour government should stop messing with the future of our children and stop dragging its feet with our workers and students,” Grech added.
The MCAST issue is one of several education-related union disputes currently being negotiated in the country.
The MUT is also locked in talks with the Education Ministry to secure a new collective agreement for educators in state and church schools and earlier this week, UĦM Voice of the Workers withdrew directives at the University of Malta at the eleventh hour after receiving a revised proposal for university administrative staff. That decision will ensure exam sessions at university are not delayed.