After failing standards test, Higher Education regulator says it was ‘good to try’

After Malta’s higher education regulator, MFHEA, embarrassingly failed to reach basic European education standards, the government-led Authority played down the negative result, stating instead that “it was good to try.”

Last month, The Shift reported how the MFHEA’s attempt to join the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) was twice rejected by the European authorities, including at the appeals stage.

After a thorough assessment of Malta’s regulator, the European body said in no uncertain terms that Malta was not prepared to join as it failed to meet most of its standards.

Instead of admitting its failure, which exposed Malta’s higher education system to embarrassing consequences in front of its European peers, the MFHEA, through its  CEO Rose Anne Cuschieri, interpreted the embarrassing result as a positive effort.

The statement quoted the European Commissioner for Education out of context, saying that the decision to apply to EQAR was “a proactive and voluntary step by MFHEA to further align with European best practices and promote transparency.

Insisting that the regulator will try again “when it is ready,” Cuschieri opined that, as the EU Education Chief Ekaterina Zaharieva said, “It’s not bad to fail; it’s much worse not to try.”

MFHEA sources told The Shift that they were “astonished” by Cuschieri’s unsigned statement, which further embarrassed their work and the Authority’s standing.

“Instead of assuming responsibility for giving Malta a bad name, trying to join a register when the regulator was clearly not prepared for it, she is now trying to justify her failures,” the sources said.

They claimed that Education Minister Clifton Grima was responsible for failing to take the necessary action to prevent his appointees from continuing to ridicule Malta abroad.

After its assessment last year, which the education minister kept secret, EQAR concluded that Malta’s regulatory body did not adhere to the highest standards of European accreditation.

It highlighted several issues, including a lack of transparency, excessive dependence on government intervention and inadequate checks and balances before accrediting higher education institutions.

EQAR also found that the regulator failed to monitor and follow up on the conditions it imposes on locally accredited institutions.

Government-appointed lawyer Edward Woods chairs the MFHEA.