Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1034189
22 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 28 September 2008 MCAST's bogus exam results MCAST examiners have been caught falsifying as- signment grades in the course for laboratory techni- cians leading to a Business & Technology Education Council Certificate, yet the education ministry has taken no action against them. MaltaToday can reveal that the administration at MCAST's Applied Sciences course mailed bogus final assignment results to students, set at higher grades than what they had actually been given by their lec- turers at the end of the 2006-07 scholastic year. Some students, who had failed to hand in their assignments, still received a grade of Distinction for work they had never actually done. Education Minister Dolores Cristina yesterday confirmed that she knew about the scandal and that an investigation had been carried out, but no steps were taken against the culprits. Reporting the matter to MCAST were students themselves, who had already known their true grade, as communicated to them by lecturers throughout the year. But the results sent to them at home were the official results by which BTEC, the international awarding body, would have to abide in order to issue the National Diploma at the end of the course. Simultaneously, students attending the diploma course for Pharmacy Technicians within the same institute have also had their final annual examination results doctored by MCAST officials. Every Phar- macy Technician student's result that year featured higher grades than those assigned by their lecturers, while the order of merit was maintained. Sources have confirmed that when, in 2006, both courses were moved from the Institute of Business and Commerce (IBAC) at MCAST to the Institute of Community Services (ICS), not all paperwork reached the ICS in the process of handover. "Such paperwork included original assignments of the Laboratory Technicians' course, which MCAST is obliged to keep to comply with international BTEC regulations. I have no idea where these assignments have ended up, but if MCAST lost them, I can only assume why these results could have been doctored. However, I cannot understand why Pharmacy Tech- nician students were given higher grades. I'm at a loss there," an MCAST source told Malta Today on con- dition of anonymity. When a spokesperson for the Ministry of Educa- tion was confronted on the issue, an email reply read: "In July of this year, the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport received an email from a student with regard to this matter. The student referred to results of assignments carried out dur- ing 2006/2007. The Ministry took up the issue with MCAST Management whereby it resulted that an in- ternal inquiry was already underway and the related investigation was about to be concluded." But apparently, members of this board included some of the same education officials accountable for the blunder, and reports reaching this newspaper can confirm that conclusions were far from being reached by the time the minister was officially informed. MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week The road to highrise... Editorial "While people are forced to live in garages and young couples can't afford a down-payment on a house loan, a Joseph Muscat-appointee on the PA Board is flown in and out of Malta by private jet." Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola THAT 'the road to hell is paved with good in- tentions' is a popular truism. Johann Buttigieg, the Planning Authority's executive chairman, has provided a text-book example by citing 'good intentions' to justify his efforts to ensure a full turn-out to last week's Board meeting, which approved the controversial City Centre project in Pembroke by 10 votes to four. This week it was revealed that one board member – Jacqueline Gili, who represents the government – had been flown in on a private jet from a holiday in Sicily before the vote was taken: despite the fact that there was no necessity for all members to be pre- sent. The Board's chairman Vince Cassar de- scribed the move as 'unprecedented'. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was quoted saying that the govern- ment did not agree with the PA's decision; while Opposition leader Adrian Delia has been quoted as calling for an independent inquiry into the case. On its part, the PA defended itself, say- ing that back in August 2016, when a similar high-rise planning application was approved, "much criticism had been levelled at a Board member who for medical reasons [Victor Axiaq, representing the Environment and Resources Authority] was not able to be pre- sent". "The Authority felt that the City Centre project was a high-profile case and carried the same magnitude and importance as that of other high-rise projects," the PA said. But in separate comments to the media, Buttigieg said his decision was taken "with good intentions"; and that he would "be an idiot" to repeat the mistake in future. Already, it can be seen that the PA is contradicting itself on this latest blunder. Clearly, the excuses offered by the authority through its official media channels, and the off-the-cuff remarks by its executive chair- man, do not add up to a consistent picture. Either it was a mistake to fly in that Board member, or it wasn't. Realistically, there can be no middle road. Whether it really was a case of good inten- tions gone bad, however, remains debatable. This was not the only indication of a 'fait accompli' in connection with this particular project. There was also the scandalous price- tag attached to public land – significantly lambasted by none other than former Labour leader Alfred Sant – as well as the fact that the board overlooked over 4,000 objections, mostly based on planning infringements and contradictions between the project and Mal- ta's own planning policies and rules. Besides, comparisons with the 2016 Town- square project decision do not really hold water. On that occasion, the criticism did not arise from the absence of any Board member at the meeting (nearly all Board meetings which approve or reject permits usually have at least one Board member absent, without any complaints). On the contrary, it was be- cause the absentee happened to be the only representative of the ERA: which is in turn the only official entity present on the Board – not counting NGOs' representatives – that has a responsibility towards safeguarding the environment. In this case, however, the Board member who was flown in represented a govern- ment that was blatantly foursquare behind this project. As such, the urgency (and cost) with which this private jet was dispatched smacked heavily of a measure to ensure a favourable vote. Knowing full well that many government appointees on the PA Board often miss out on meetings, there must have been a will to ensure a full presence on what was, arguably, an important project. Naturally, it was ex- pected that government members would vote in favour of the project, but without such drastic action, this might not have been a clear enough vote to counter the onslaught of well over 4,000 objections from the public. A close vote would have put the approval in doubt. A clear majority was needed. This, more than 'good intentions', appears to have been the driving force behind the decision. And this, too, is what triggered the criti- cism. It is the PA's naked, undisguised deter- mination to ensure the predicted outcome, which (in this case more than most) runs directly counter to massive public resistance, that has irked and irritated large swathes of the general public. And there are other causes of concern. Various reports have since emerged on al- leged conflicts of interest: including Matthew Pace, of MFSP Financial – also co-owner of the Swieqi branch of the RE/MAX Alliance, one of several agencies which are finding investors and residents for the same project. More recently, a denial by Labour MP Clay- ton Bartolo of what appears to be a close relationship between his family's business and the db Group. Flying over a single Board member can therefore be seen to be only one part of an entire network of connections and coinci- dences, all designed to ensure that the PA de- livers the 'right' decision, when push comes to shove. Taken together, this unfortunately suggests that the PA board has become too institu- tionally compromised to be entrusted with its sensitive task. There are too many conflicts inside the board to inspire public trust. It is simply a tool to 'legitimise' the government's pact with business and construction: leaving no official entity to safeguard legitimate pub- lic concerns against corporate greed.