November 2, 2016 at 3:39 pm
MUT has no issue with service to students but without names of lecturers
Following the trade dispute with Junior College and the decision by the University of Malta to stop the publishing of absent lecturers on the College monitors, the MUT would like to point out that it has no issue with students knowing that their lecture has been cancelled.
The problem that the Union highlighted was that the methodology chosen by the Junior College administration was in total breach of data protection legislation since it was publishing the names of absent lecturers on public monitors accessible to all and sundry. To compound matters, the Junior College was fully cognizant for at least three years that student organisations were abusing of this service by illegally publishing these names on public social media pages, accessible by all.
The MUT asked the Junior College to switch off the monitors until such time as a different solution is implemented. As possible solutions, the Union has already suggested that the College either provides personalised messages to affected students only or at the least publish the classes being cancelled rather than issuing names of lecturers, as is the practice in the University of Malta itself and other respectable institutions. The MUT will suspend the industrial dispute and directives planned if the monitors are switched off and/or a sensible solution is found.
