Massive enrolment into university does not necessarily imply that the liberal principle of equality of opportunity is being implemented, Carmel Borg, Dean of the Faculty of Education, said at the first graduation ceremony this academic year yesterday.
Delivering the academics' speech, Dr Borg said the discourse of equity and accessibility does not begin on the threshold of university or any other tertiary institution. "That there is a link between basic educational structures and accessibility to tertiary education becomes evident in educational contexts where children are streamed according to the false principle of ability. For those who have eyes and want to see, it is clear that educational systems that stream early on in the process tend to exclude rather than include people from tertiary education," he said.
He explained that international trends and debates about the present and future of the public university offered several starting points for discussion within the Maltese context.
In an international context where market logic had swept the public university into an ocean of uncertainty and unpredictability, where the very discourse of accessibility, public service, academic autonomy and intellectual independence was being transformed into a predominantly managerial discourse of accountability, competitiveness, efficiency, relevance and flexibility, solutions could be found to embark on a revival of the University of Malta. This was not a lost cause, he said.
"The present situation shows us a tertiary educational institution with numerous areas of vulnerability: academic infrastructure, on-going investment, technology and human resources. This situation not only prevents us from having a vision and plans for the future but also keeps us bogged down in a present characterised by fear and low morale - a situation that has a paralysing rather than an inspiring influence," Dr Borg said.
"There is no doubt that, in the present situation, the University of Malta can neither develop into a centre of excellence nor into foci of quality research. Well-informed predictions indicate that this stagnation will get us stuck at the lowest levels of the international academic classification."
Dr Borg said profitable research and studies at doctoral level will not be attracted to a site where the library has dried up of funds, where laboratories and workshops have basic deficiencies and where academics are having to make ends meet.
"We should all agree that the university is an institution with strategic value for the development of our country."
Financial exigencies should not dictate the very existence of faculties. "The commitment to critical thinking is rooted in educational sites where people do not dance to commerce's tune. Traditional arts and social sciences provide the necessary tools for a country to prosper in its democratic culture. In a university context, it is these spheres of learning that can potentially protect society from domination by the market. Thus it is very dangerous that these areas of knowledge should be callously thrown on the dissection table," Dr Borg warned.
In a context where the private sector's involvement in tertiary education was on the increase, the state had to make up its mind about what type of relationship it wants vis-à-vis the public university.
"While we can never expect university to generate its own finances, we can and do expect university to be profitable in certain areas. For this to happen, the university must be given the relative flexibility in order to compete on the open economic market. International trends allow no shadow of a doubt about the importance of real autonomy for the development of the public university."
Diploma in Health Science
Roberto Bugeja, Anna Marie Espinosa Rodriguez, Darleen Gatt Azzopardi, Paul Grixti, Sarah Mifsud, Elaine Seychell
Diploma in Nursing
Elaine Abela, Lyndsay Abela, Kirk Attard, Mireille Attard, Gabriella Azzopardi, Noel Azzopardi, Nicholas Balzan, Rachel Barthet, Bjorn Bartolo, Rowland Bezzina, Alan Bonnici, Eric Borg, Miraldine Buttigieg, Lariza Calleja, Christian Camilleri, Mario Camilleri, Jacqueline Caruana, Jeanette Caruana, Pamela Caruana, Edwin Casha, Marica Cassar, Raffaella Ceci, Quentin Chetcuti, Diane Chircop, Diane Ciangura, Stefania Debono, Tony Falzon, Alice Farrugia, Manuel Farrugia, Denise Galea, Vivian Galea, Charmaine Gatt, Christa Gauci, Daniela Grech, M'claire Grech, Ulrike Lau, Marika Mallia, Maria Mangion, Andrea Meylak, Denise Micallef, Mary Micallef, Rebecca Micallef, Gertrude Mifsud, Alan Mizzi, Christiana Mizzi.
Claudine Muscat, Darren Pisani, Katya Portelli, Michelle Portelli, Mark Pullicino, Stefan Said, Antoine Sant, Odette Scerri, Fiona Schembri, Felicity Sciberras, Geraldine Sciberras, Romina Scicluna, Christopher Siegersma, Phyllisianne Spiteri.
Maria Tabone, Kevin Tanti, Rennie Tanti, Ermira Tartari, Damien Tonna, Alexandra Vassallo, Donatella Vassallo Manché, Sarah Vella, Vanessa Vella, Noel Vidal, Jenny-Marie Xerri, Abigail Xuereb, Aaron Zammit.
Bachelor of Science (Hons) Health Science
Sponsor: Dr S Buttigieg
Cathleen Abela, Karen Agius, Sephora Aquilina, Andrea Attard, Peter Azzopardi, Pamela Bezzina, Nadia Boffa, Andrew Borg*, Dorothy Borg, Joseph Borg, Neville Borg, Kristjan Briffa, Erika Brincat, Daniela Buttigieg, Carl Cachia, Carlo Calleja Mercieca, Ariane Camilleri, Nadia Camilleri, Ruben Cauci, Kurt Debono, Edward Falzon, Daphne Farrugia.
Fay Farrugia, Melissa Formosa, Roberta Galea, Carla Gatt, Sarah Gauchi, Simon Gouder, Amanda Grech, Justin Grima, Carolyn Hili, Noel Kenely, Audrey Losco, Malcolm Mallia, Rachel Mallia.
Roderick Mallia, Veronica Manduca, Marilyn Mangion, Suzanne Mifsud, Veronica Montanaro, Amanda Muscat, David Muscat, Kevin Muscat, Lucienne Muscat, Francesca Pace Bonello, Christine Podrini, Simone Pollacco, Jonathan Portelli, David Pulis, Kirsten Pulis, Tanya Rapa, Bella Said, Aaron Saliba, Gerardine Saliba.
Gertrude Sammut, Graziella Santillo, Diana Schembri, Cedric Sciberras, Gianfranco Siracusa, James Stewart, Nadine Tabone, Rodnick Vassallo, Elaine Vella, Eleanor Vella, Josianne Xuereb, Vanessa Zammit, Darren Zerafa, Stephanie Zerafa.
Bachelor of Science (Hons) Nursing/Midwifery
Sponsor: Dr S. Buttigieg
Julian Agius, Natalie Agius, Dorianne Attard, Rodianne Attard, Tracey Bartolo, Claire Bellizzi, Joseph Bezzina, Pauline Bonello, Daniela Borg, Glorianne Brincat, Michael Buttigieg, Nancy Camenzuli, Mark Anthony Camilleri, Alexander Carachi, Anne Marie Ciantar, Dorianne Curmi, Isabelle Cuschieri, Anna Ebejer Marinova, Maria Farrugia, Rebecca Felice, Karen Fenech Imbroll, Michael Galea, Claudine Gatt, Marlene Gauci, Angele Grech, Marsha Grech, Rachel Grech, Michelle Micallef, Rose Marie Muscat, Clare Pace, Kristin Sammut Henwood, Paulann Spiteri, Patrick Teuma Custò, Claudio Tufigno, Emmanuel Vella.
Bachelor in Conservation & Restoration Studies (Hons)
Sponsor: Prof. Alfred Vella
Francesca Grech, Joanna Hili Micallef, Anthony Spagnol, Ray Spiteri.
Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Mauro Abdilla, Bettina Abela, Tanya Abela, Rachel Agius, Antonella Aquilina, Cheryl Aquilina, Alexia Attard, Jonathan Attard, Veronica Azzopardi, Karl Bartolo, David Bonnici, Karin Borg, Amanda Briffa, Adrian Busuttil, Louisa Camilleri, Melania Camilleri, Tiziana Ceci, Aronne Chetcuti Caruana, Beya Insaf El Materi, Anne Marie Ellul, Nadya Falzon, Alessandra Farrugia, Sabrina Farrugia, Alexandra Fenech, Daniela Fernandez, Demis Fsadni, Fiona Galea, Michael Galea, Elton Gatt, Chiara Lanfranco, Monique Mangion, Elisa Nicholl, Jonathan Portelli, Noel Saliba, Pamela Schembri, Wendy Scicluna Giusti, Adrian Spiteri, Mary Spiteri, Suhaila Steinkuhler Patel, Christian Tanti, Joanne Vassallo, Chantelle Zammit Marmarà, Romilda Zarb.
Bachelor of Pharmacy
Jakov Cordina
Bachelor of Dental Surgery
Sponsor: Prof. J.M. Portelli
Nicholas Bezzina, Conrad Costa, Audrey Fava, Nicola Zammit.
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Sponsor: Prof. Ing. M. Grech
Paul Abela, Etienne Agius, Mark Aquilina, Ian Attard, Keith Attard, Nicholas Attard, Daniel Azzopardi, Alexandra Bartolo, John Blaut, Nicholas Bonello, David Bonnici, Morgan Bonnici, Ingram Borg, Kevin Borg, Jean Paul Buttigieg, Ivan Cachia, Ian Camilleri, Owen Casha, Glenn Cassar, Renè Cassar, Tracey Cassar, Kenneth Chircop, David Debono, Jason Demicoli, Roseanne Duca, Bernard Farrugia, David Farrugia.
Reuben Farrugia, Ruth Farrugia, Oliver Fenech, Emma Frendo, Amarise Galea, Celine Galea, Eric Galea, Oliver Gauci, Patrick Gauci, Andrew John Grech, Anne Marie Grech, Chantelle Mercieca, Reuben Mifsud, Simon Mizzi, Gilbert Naudi, Tiziana Pace, Jonathan Randich, Steven Sargent, Christopher Spiteri, Mario Spiteri, Robert Spiteri, Karl Stevens, Adriana Tabone, Goran Telenta*, John Zammit, Kenneth Zammit, Terry Zammit.
Post Qualification Diploma in Health Science
Lorraine Abela, Lorraine Attard, Tonio Attard, Alan Azzopardi, Mario Bonett*, Graziella Borg, Leonard Briffa, Lucienne Brincat, Maria Camilleri, Tiziana Camilleri, Gaetana Carabott, Vincent Cassar, Rachel Debattista, Alida Deguara, Elizabeth Micallef, Paul Micallef, Joseph Sant, Maria Sciberras, Aaron Simpson, Catherine Vassallo, John Zammit.
Doctor of Medicine and Surgery
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Rachel Agius, Greta Apap, Rachel Attard, Charles Azzopardi, Ernest Azzopardi, Stefan Bajada, Mariana Baldacchino, Cynthia Barbara, Daniela Barbara, Andrea Biondo, Arlene Bonello, Janika Borg, Edward Calleja, Roberta Callus, Gabriella Captur, Marius Caruana, Charmaine Cassar, Claire Cassar, Matthew Cassar, Noel Cassar, Daniella Croker, Sarah De Giovanni, Eleanor Debono, Christine Deguara, Joanna Delia, Jacques Diacono, Marie-Claire Formosa Filippidis, Martin Galea, Noel Gatt, Robert Gauci, Mark Grech, Reuben Grech, Stephan Grech, Marius Grima, Caroline Griscti, Silvio Grixti, Karsten Hoff.
Elaine Lauria, Brooke Tiffany Lawson, Vera Lonning, Caroline Magri, Andrew Mallia, Tiziana Micallef, Owen Mifsud, Timothy Muchayi, Lisa-Marie Psaila, Tone Roste, Dorothy Said, Natasha Saliba, Vanessa Saliba, Alexia Schembri, Andrew Schiro`, Mairi Sciberras, Warren Scicluna, Pamela Seychell, Danica Spiteri, Kurt Spiteri Cornish, Kenneth Vassallo, Alain Vella, Roberta Vella, Louisa Von Brockdorff, Daryl Xuereb, Dorian Xuereb, Maria Xuereb, Anthony Zahra, Kristian Zammit, Raina Zarb Adami, Abigail Zerafa.
Master of Science in Medicine & Surgery
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Adam Bartolo, Angela Borg Barthet, Neville Calleja*, Noel Caruana, Kathleen England, Joanne Farrugia, John Farrugia, Sylvania Galea, Anthony Gatt.
John Peter Gauci, Chidozie Nwaokoro, James Pocock, Mohammed Salem Rashed, Carmel Sammut, Miriam Vella, Denis Vella Balcacchino, Elizabeth Xuereb.
Master of Health Science
Sponsor: Dr S. Buttigieg
May Caruana, Edward Cassar Delia.
Master of Science in Engineering
Sponsor: Prof. Ing. M. Grech
Rennie Deguara, Karl Farrugia, Johann Galea, Stefan Galea, Mark Anthony Sammut.
Master of Science in Agriculture & Veterinary Pharmacy
Sponsor: Dr G. Attard
Marie Josette Parnis, Bernardette Rossi.
Master of Science in Environmental Planning & Management
Sponsor: Prof. P. Schembri
Catherine Galea
Masters of Philosophy
Sponsor: Prof. Ing. M. Grech
Clair Seguna
Master of Philosophy
Sponsor: Prof. G. Laferla
Mark Formosa, Hana Shabbi
* In Absentia