MALTA QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION INFORMATION CENTRE AND THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 451.01

MALTA QUALIFICATIONS RECOGNITION

INFORMATION CENTRE AND THE MUTUAL

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS

BOARD REGULATIONS

1st May, 2004

LEGAL NOTICE 196 of 2004.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Malta

Qualifications Recognition Information Centre and the Mutual

Recognition of Qualifications Appeals Board Regulations.

(2) The scope of these regulations is to establish the

organisational and operational structure af the Malta Qualifications

Recognition Information Centre and of the Mutual Recognition of

Qualifications Appeals Board.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Act;

"Appeals Board'' means the Mutual Recognition of Qualification

Appeals Board established by article 7 of the Act;

"the Centre" means the Malta Qualifications Recognition

Information Centre known as the Malta QRIC established by article

6(1) of the Act;

"Coordinator" means the Mutual Recognition Coordinator

established by article 5 of the Act;

"the Council" means the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications

Competent Authorities Council established by regulation 6;

"Designated Authorities Conference" means the Mutual

Recognition of Qualifications Designated Authorities Conference

established by regulation 7;

"desk officers" means the Malta QRIC desk officers responsible

for liasing with identified countries and designated authorities

established by these regulations.

Part I

Organisational and operational structure of the Malta

Qualifications Recognition Information Centre

The Centre shall be managed by the Director designated to

be responsible for the Malta QRIC who shall be the assisted in this

task by the designated assistant director.

(1) There shall be established desk officers within the

Malta QRIC.

(2)

The functions of the desk officers shall be

(a) to collect and disseminate information related to

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

academic and vocational qualifications;

(b) to liase with the designated authorities;

(c) to support the assistant director in promoting and

enhancing the service offered by the Centre.

(1) There shall be established within the Malta QRIC an

A c a d e m i c C r e d e n t i a l s E v a l u a t i o n B o a r d a n d a Vo c a t i o n a l

Credentials Evaluation Board to perform duties in the comparative

analysis and recognition of academic and, or vocational

qualifications.

(2) The functions of the Academic Credentials Evaluation

Board and the Vocational Credentials Evaluation Board shall be

(a) to assist the Director and the Assistant Director

designated to be responsible for the Malta QRIC in the

running of the Centre;

(b) to process requests reaching the Centre on matters

related to the provision of information on

qualifications and recognition;

(c) to provide an informed opinion in relation to the

comparative analysis of academic and vocational

qualifications;

(d) to provide information about educational institutions

and the academic and, or vocational programmes

offered by these institutions;

(e) to provide impartial information acquired through the

international network to the Mutual Recognition of

Qualifications Appeals Board as required.

(3) The Academic Credentials Evaluation Board and the

Vocational Credentials Evaluation Board shall be composed of

(a) a chairperson, who shall be a full time official of the

Education Division and serving as desk officer within

the Malta QRIC, acquainted with matters related to

academic and vocational qualifications and institutions

awarding such qualifications; and

(i)

in the case of the chairperson of the Academic

Credentials Evaluation Board, he shall be an ex

officio member of the Vocational Credentials

Evaluation Board;

(ii) in the case of the chairperson of the Vocational

Credentials Evaluation Board, he shall be an ex

officio member of the Academic Credentials

Evaluation Board;

(b) two members who shall be full time officials of the

Education Division and serving as desk officers within

the Malta QRIC acquainted with matters related to

academic and vocational qualifications.

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

(1) There shall be established a Council to be called the

Mutual Recogniti on of Qualificatio ns Co uncil having su ch

functions as set out in these regulations.

(2)

The objectives of the Council shall be

(a) to co-ordinate the activities related to the recognition

and evaluation of qualification of the various

certificates awarding bodies;

(b) to ensure the timely dissemination of information

related to the issue of qualifications and the

recognition of qualifications, received from the EU,

UNESCO, Council of Europe or similar organisations;

(c) to promote and facilitate, co-ordination in course

structure, quality assurance and transparency of

qualifications.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the objectives set out

in sub-regulation (2), the Council shall

(a) perform such other functions as are or may be assigned

to it by the Act or by regulations made thereunder;

(b) do all things necessary and expedient in accordance

with these regulations, to further the objectives of the

Council;

(c) assist the chairperson in establishing the criteria and

policies on which to base the recognition,

comparability and evaluation of academic and

vocational qualifications;

(d) support the promotion and the development of such

instruments of transparency in qualifications and

frameworks for course organisation, as may be

developed and agreed upon by the European Union or

identified as good practice in countries outside the

European Union;

(e) make recommendations to the Coordinator on any

matter related to the implementation of the provisions

of these regulations.

(4)

The Council shall be composed as follows

(a) a chairman who shall be the Director within the Malta

QRIC;

(b) a member appointed by the Senate of the University of

Malta;

(c) a member appointed by the Council of the Institutes of

the Malta College of Art, Science and Technology;

(d) a member appointed by the Malta Professional

Vocational Qualifications Council;

(e) a public officer within the Education Division

responsible for issuing permits to non-state

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

educational institutions to operate;

(f)

a representative of and appointed by the Institute of

Tourism Studies;

(g) the assistant director working within the Malta QRIC;

(h) the chairpersons of the Academic Credentials, and

Vocational

Credentials

Evaluation

Boards

respectively.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-regulations (2),

(3) and (4), each Council member shall be

(a) the official contact person responsible for the passing

on of all selected documents and information to the

competent person or persons within the entity or body

appointing them;

(b) responsible for the implementation of related

Ministerial policies, EU directives and any decisions

and policies of the Council;

(c) responsible for reporting progression for any related

information, statistics or any other matter required by

the Ministry, the National Coordinator and, or the

Council.

(1) The Mutual Recognition Coordinator shall establish a

Conference to be called the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications

Designated Authorities Conference. The Conference shall meet

once a year and shall have such functions as set out in these

regulations.

(2)

The aims of the Designated Authorities Conference shall

(a) to facilitate and promote uniform application of the

Act and regulations made hereunder;

(b) to co-ordinate

the activities of the designated

authorities;

(c) to ensure the timely dissemination of information on

matters governed by the Act and regulations made

hereunder.

(3) The Designated Authorities Conference shall be composed

as follows

(a) the chairperson who shall be the Mutual Recognition

Coordinator;

(b) the chairperson of the Malta QRIC;

(c) the head of each one of the various designated

authorities or his representative;

(d) the desk officers of the Malta

Qualification

Recognition Information Centre;

(e) a representative of the unions and a representative of

the employers appointed through the Malta Council for

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

Economic and Social Development.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-regulation (2),

individual Council members shall be

(a) the official contact persons of the authority they

represent;

(b) persons responsible for the dissemination of all

information;

(c) persons responsible for the provision of any related

information, statistics and any other matter required by

the Ministry, the National Coordinator and, or the

Designated Authorities Conference.

Part II

Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Appeals Board

(1) In accordance with and without prejudice to article 7 of

the Act, the Minister responsible for education shall set up three

divisions of the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Appeals

Board to deal with appeals regarding

(a) recognition of higher education diplomas awarded on

completion of Professional Education and Training of

at least three years duration and governed by the

Recognition

of

Professional

Qualifications

Regulations;

(b) recognition of other post secondary level of education

and training courses and long or short secondary level

of education courses, possibly complemented by

professional training or experience and governed by

the Recognition of Professional Qualifications

Regulations;

(c) recognition of professional activities and governed by

the Recognition of Professional Qualifications

Regulations.

(2) Each division of the Board shall be composed of the

members of the Board and another two persons, who are

independent of the competent authorities awarding qualifications

and the designated licence, permit or warrant issuing authority,

appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendation of the

Minister responsible for education from among persons of known

integrity who appear to him to be qualified by reasons of having

had experience of and capacity in matters deemed appropriate for

such purpose.

(3) The Board shall not act unless a quorum of three of its

members including the chairman or his deputy is present.

(4) The chairman of the Board or, in his absence a member of

the board selected to deputise for the chairman shall have the

powers to summon witnesses and to administer an oath to any

w i t n es s a n d t o r eq u i r e h i m t o g i v e ev i d e n c e o r t o p r o d u c e

documents before it.

RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS APPEALS BOARD

(5) The Board shall reject any appeal which is not made in

writing within the time specified in any provision.

(6) All persons summoned to attend and give evidence at any

sitting of the Board shall be bound to obey the summons served on

them; and any person refusing or omitting without sufficient cause

to attend at the day, time and place mentioned in the summons

served on him or to answer, to the best of his knowledge and belief,

all questions put to him by the Board, or to produce documents

required by the Board to be produced before it, shall be guilty of an

offence against this Act

Provided that no person giving evidence before the Board

shall be compelled to incriminate himself and every such person

shall, in respect of any evidence given by him before the Board, be

entitled to all the privileges to which a person giving evidence

before a court of law is entitled in respect of evidence given by him

before such court.

(7) The Board may seek the help of the Malta QRIC and the

network to which the Malta QRIC forms part for any information

regarding qualifications issued in Malta or abroad.

(8) The decisions of the Board shall be final expect with

respect to points of law decided by the Board, from which an

appeal shall be within ten days to the Court of Appeal (Inferior

Jurisdiction); the judge shall have the right to decide in camera that

such appeal is frivolous or vexatious following the closing of the

stage of written submissions; such appeal shall also be regulated by

Rules of Court made under article 29 of the Code of Organization

and Civil Procedure.

(9) The Board shall, in January of each year submit a report of

activities to the Minister and to the General Systems Directives

Coordinator.