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Malta

National Information Centres

L-Awtorità tal-Edukazzjoni Avvanzata u Ogħla ta' Malta (MFHEA) / Ċentru Malti għal Rikonoxximent ta’ Kwalifiki u ta’ Informazzjoni (Maltese Enic-Naric)
Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) / Malta Qualification Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC)

Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA),
Triq J Abela Scolaro
Hamrun
HMR 1304
MALTA

Phone: +356 2598 1450
E-mail: mqric@mfhea.mt
Website: https://mfhea.mt/academic-qualifications/
Head of Centre: Dr. Stefan Sant - Head MQRIC

Education System

Early childhood education and care in Malta is available for children from the age of three months up to two years and nine months at centres run by both the state and private entities. Children between the ages of two years and nine months and five years attend Kindergarten centres which are operated by the state, Church and Independent Schools.

Compulsory education runs from the ages of 5 to 16 years, and consists of two stages: primary education (from the age of 5 to 11 and including two cycles - early and junior years) and secondary education (from 11 to 16 years of age). All secondary schools provide educational courses that are general in nature. However, students can opt to study one vocational subject in the last three years of secondary school. Independent schools represent the private sector of education. The curricula for state, Church and Independent schools have to fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF).

Following compulsory education students can either choose to follow an academic or a vocational education path. General education, known as sixth form, is provided by G.F. Abela Junior College within the University of Malta, Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary by the state, and a number of Private institutions. Alternatively, the main VET providers in Malta are the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS). MCAST is the main state VET provider and includes a Foundation College, a Technical College and a University College. MCAST currently offers courses from Level 1 to Level 7 on the MQF. The second state VET provider is the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS), which provides education and training in the tourism and hospitality sector. ITS provides courses from Level 2 to Level 7 on the MQF. There also exist a number of private VET providers offering Further and Higher education and training in a number of sectors such as ICT, care, hospitality, beauty etc. Although varying in size, private VET providers are increasing, catering for more than 12% of VET students and changing the scenario of education provision in Malta.

Public Tertiary Education

Public tertiary education is provided by the following institutions: University of Malta (self-accrediting up to MQF level 8), the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (self-accrediting up to MQF level 7), and the Institute of Tourism Studies Malta (self-accrediting up to MQF level 7).

Private Education Institutions
Similarly, a number of private education institutions offer tertiary education programmes. A list of these programmes is available from here.

Further and Higher Education Institutions

In accordance with Subsidiary Legislation 327.433 Licensing, Accreditation and Quality Assurance, MFHEA maintains a register of accredited further and higher educational institutions in Malta. Institutions on this list have gone through the accreditation process and can be considered as ‘licensed’ institutions. For more info click here.

International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI): Master of Laws and Doctoral Programme
International Maritime Law (IMLI) is an international institute which does not fall within the jurisdiction of MFHEA as it was set up as a result of the 1988 agreement between the Government of Malta and the International Maritime Organisation. IMLI has voluntarily submitted its Master's degree and Doctoral degree for comparability with the MQF in terms of knowledge, skills and competences. A comparability study was commissioned by MFHEA on 20th March and 26th June 2020 respectively which determined that the Master's degree and Doctoral Programme met the stipulated requirements to be referenced at MQF Level 7 and MQF Level 8. The comparability is maintained as long as IMLI continues to voluntarily have its programmes subject to a programme audit.

Framework

Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF)

The Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) assists in making the Maltese qualifications system easier to understand and review, and more transparent at a national and international level. The Malta Qualifications Framework is also a referencing tool that helps to describe and compare both national and foreign qualifications to promote quality, transparency and mobility of qualifications in all types of education. It is mainly referenced to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) as well as to other non-European qualifications frameworks.


Link(s): English

Self-Certification

Referencing of the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF/EHEA)

The Referencing Report is Malta’s national document which describes the Malta Qualifications Framework and the different levels of qualifications in Malta. It provides details of the parameters which need to be respected by any national qualification conferred in Malta in terms of the level of learning outcomes and number of credits. This report also describes the referencing process of the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) to other meta-frameworks, mainly: the European Qualifications Framework (EQF); the Qualifi​​​cations Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF/EHEA)​; and the Transnational Qualifications Framework of the Small States of the Commonwealth (TQF).


Link(s): English

Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA)

By virtue of Subsidiary Legislation 327.433, on Licensing, Accreditation and Quality Assurance, the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) is responsible licensing, accreditation and quality assurance for further and higher education institutions in Malta. These regulations endorse the 2012 European Regulations for Further and Higher Education, including the European Standards for Guidelines and Quality Assurance in the Higher Education Area and the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET).

The MFHEA has strengthened quality assurance in Malta through the establishment of the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education, which was launched in July 2015. Through this framework, the MFHEA supports accredited and prospective Further and Higher education institutions in Malta by providing guidance on areas which are considered important to ensure a quality assured learning environment in further and higher education.

Malta Qualifications Recognition and Information Centre (MQRIC)

The Malta Qualifications Recognition and Information Centre (MQRIC) is the competent body within the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) that recognises qualifications against the Malta Qualifications Framework. It provides recognition and comparability of both academic and vocational qualifications, using both the Malta Qualifications Framework and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) to provide recognition advice on both local and international qualifications. It also assists in the recognition of Maltese qualifications abroad. MQRIC is also the local official ENIC-NARIC centre in Malta and forms part of the ENIC-NARIC Network.

Responsible organisation

The European Union Programmes Agency (EUPA)
European Union Programmes Agency
Ex-Royal Navy Military HospitalTriq l-Imtarfa,
MTF 1140, MALTA
Phone: 2558 6130
E-mail: eupa@gov.mt
Link(s): English

Information on DS (legislation, template, chart, etc)

Qualifications giving access to higher education

In Malta, access to higher education is granted to students in possession of the Matriculation Certificate, which comprises of two A Level subjects, three subjects at Intermediate Level and a pass in Systems of Knowledge at Grade E or higher. The Matriculation Certificate is issued by the MATSEC Examinations Board.

Other qualifications and awards referenced to MQF Level 4 may also be accepted for entrance to higher education courses.

Higher education institutions in Malta are either self-accrediting institutions like the University of Malta, Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) and the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) or private institutions licensed by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA).

Further and Higher Education Institutions

In accordance with Subsidiary Legislation 327.433 Licensing, Accreditation and Quality Assurance, MFHEA maintains a register of accredited further and higher educational institutions in Malta. Institutions on this list have gone through the accreditation process and can be considered as ‘licensed’ institutions.
For more info click here.

MQRIC policy on qualification recognition of Refugees

MQRIC’s policy is that all qualifications submitted for recognition will be treated with the same procedural criteria, without distinction based on the legal status of applicant.  Persons holding refugee status or beneficiaries of international protection may be given concessions from application fees upon meeting specific criteria.

Awards and Qualifications awarded by licensed awarding institutions can be verified with the relevant awarding bodies.

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