ACT No. XVIll of 1997 AN ACT to amend the Education Act, Cap. 327 BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows

I assent.

(LoS.)

Ugo MIFSUD BONNIeI

President

25th July. 1997

ACT No. XVIll of 1997

AN ACT to amend the Education Act, Cap. 327

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows

(l)

This Act may be cited as the Education (Amendment)

Act, 1997, and shall be read and construed as one with the Education

Act, hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act" .

(2) This Act shall come into force on such date as the

Minister responsible for education may by order in the Gazette establish

and different dates may be so established for different provisions and

different purposes thereof.

Section 28 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

in paragraph (g) thereof, for the words "diffusion of

knowledge and sciences;" there shall be substituted the words

"diffusion of knowledge and sciences as well as the establishment

of academic audit and quality assurance schemes;"; and

(b) in paragraph (i) thereof, for the words "it may receive"

there shall be substituted the words "it may receive or generate".

For section 29 of the principal Act there shall be substituted

the following

(1) The finance of the University shall derive

from periodic agreements entered into between the University

and the Government stipulating, among other things, the

supply of funds to the University by the Government.

(2)

The amount of funds to be stated in the

agreement shall be established in relation to the requirements

of the University to achieve its aims determined in the context

of the needs of the country as perceived by the Government.

(3) The agreement stipulated between the

Government and the University, and any extension or

substitution thereof, shall be laid in draft on the Table of the

House of Representatives , and shall be entered into only after

it has been discussed in the House of Representatives in a

sitting for that purpose not later than 28 days from the day on

which it is so laid.

(4) The University shall in each financial year

cause to be prepared and shall adopt estimates of its income

and expenditure for the following year.

(5) The University shall cause to be kept proper

accounts and other records in respect of its operation and

transactions and shall cause to be prepared a statement of

accounts in respect of each financial year.

(6) The accounts of the University shall be

audited by an auditor or auditors appointed by the Council

from year to year.

(7) The University shall, not later than three

months after the end of each financial year, cause a copy of a

statement of its audited accounts together with a report on its

activities during that year, to be sent to the Minister together

with the report of the auditor or auditors with respect to such

statement and the Minister shall without delay lay such

statements and reports on the Table of the House of

Representatives so that the House may take note thereof and

discuss the same in not more than two normal sittings,

allocated for that purpose, within eight weeks from their being

laid by the Minister.".

4. Section 30 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

in subsection (2) thereof

(i) for the word "Pro-Rector" in paragraph (d) thereof,

there shall be substituted the word "Pro-Rectors"; and

(ii) for the word "Deans" in paragraph (f) thereof, there

shall be substituted the words "Deans and Deputy Deans";

(b) for subsection (12) thereofthere shall be substituted the

following

"( 12) The Pro-Rectors shall be appointed by the Rector

for a term of one year and shall as delegated by the Rector,

perform the functions of the Rector in the circumstances that

the. Pro-Chancellor would perform the functions of the

Chancellor under the provisions of subsection (7) of this

section. One of the Pro-Rectors determined from time to time

by the Rector, shall also perform the functions of the Rector

in the same circumstances that the Pro-Chancellor would

perform the functions of the Chancellor under the provisions

of subsection (8) of this section.";

(c) in subsection (14) thereof for the word "two" there shall

be substituted the word "four"; and

(d) immediately after subsection (14) thereof there shall be

added the following new subsections

"(15) The University Ombudsman shall be appointed

for a term of five years by the Ombudsman appointed in terms

of the Ombudsman Act, 1995, hereinafter referred to as "the

Parliamentary Ombudsman". He shall have the duty to

investigate and report 011 any complaint by the students or

employees of the University on matters related to the

University as well as complaints by persons who have been

refused entry into the University, and to suggest redress.

Complainants, who have exhausted this remedy may still,

bring their complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The

University Ombudsman shall be paid such salary and

allowances, which shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund,

as may be determined by the Minister.

(16) The University Ombudsman may only be

removed from office by the Parliamentary Ombudsman on

the advice of the Council, and this for proved inability to

perform the functions of his office or proved misbehaviour,

which advice is to be given by an address of the Council for

that purpose having the support of the votes of at least two-

thirds of its members.

(17) The Deputy Dean of a Faculty shall be appointed

by the Rector for a period of one year, in consultation with

the Dean of the respective Faculty.

(18) The Deputy Dean besides such other functions

as may be delegated to him by the Dean, shall perform the

functions of the Dean in the same circumstances that the Pro-

Chancellor would perform the functions of Chancellor under

the provision of subsection (7) and subsection (8) of this

section." .

5. For paragraph (h) of section 32 of the principal Act there shall

be substituted the following

"(h) a number of members appointed by the Prime Minister

from among the leading representatives of the economic, industrial

and social fields, to represent the general interest of the country ,

such number never to exceed the number of all the members

mentioned in paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) of this section.".

6. For paragraph (b) of section 34 of the principal Act there shall

be substituted the following

"(b) the Pro-Rectors, one of whom as may be designated

by the Rector from time to time shall be the Vice-president;".

7. Immediately at the end of subsection (1) of section 39 of the

principal Act, there shall be added the following proviso

"Provided that any person holding office on the governing

body of the University shall continue so to hold office, despite the expiry

of his term, until the election or appointment of another person to

substitute that person.".

8. Paragraph (c) in section 40 of the principal Act shall be deleted.

9. Section 46 of the principal Act shall be repealed.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 100 of

Friday,18th July,1997.

Myriam Spiteri Debono

Speaker

RICHARD J. CAUCHI

Clerk to the House of Representatives.

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