Governing structures in Malta’s higher education : a drive towards managerialism?

Abstract

Higher Education is no longer dominated by monopolistic structures but is becoming increasingly competitive both on the domestic and international platform. This is mirrored in Malta’s higher education governing system where public higher education institutions are not anymore the sole players because they are competing with private institutions that are enrolling an increasing number of students and have now become a major player in this sector. This raises the main research question of this paper: How are Malta’s educational institutions facing this reality and how are the governing structures being re-engineered in the context of an international competitive scenario? In its attempt to provide an answer, this paper introduces the concept of the ‘governing and managerial engine’ and presents a preliminary study of the governing and managerial state of higher education in Malta. The shift from a government to a governing perspective in public policy which challenged the idea of having a ‘lone co-ordinator’ into more ‘network steering’, ‘quasi-markets’, ‘new public management’ and ‘interactive governance’ has had its influences on higher education. Governance in higher education became not only associated with the idea of networks but also with the introduction of markets and New Public Management concepts which are associated with the business enterprise world. This is a process towards the development of business-like governing structures and a higher education ‘governing and managerial engine’. The focus of this paper is to assess structural theories and investigate one of the streams of the governance model proposed by De Boer, Enders and Schimank in 2006, namely the development of effective managerial hierarchies, goal-setting regimes and decision-making powers in Malta’s higher education structures. The analysis in governing structures is limited to the three main public institutions offering courses at Higher Education Level: the University of Malta, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Institute for Tourism Studies (ITS). The first section provides an introductory analysis of the changing context and how students’ population in the private and public institutions has evolved over time. The second section assesses the importance of strengthening managerialism instead of focusing exclusively on academia. The third section examines the governing structures at a national level and compares the structural arrangements at an institutional level.