Wednesday, 19th November 2008 - 11:25CET

Company files protest against IT courses selection board chairman

A company which had submitted a tender for the provision of IT courses for MCAST this morning filed a judicial protest against the chairman of the selection board saying actions he had taken during the selection process would cause it damages.

Computer Domain Ltd said it had been awarded the most points in the selection process, but rather than awarding it the contract, the selection board, on instructions from its chairman, Juan Borg Manduca, was asked to raise the points of the other bidding companies such that they too became eligible for the contract.

Computer Domain said that as a result of this unjustified manoeuvre, the contract which should have been awarded to it would now be divided between all the bidders.

The company claimed that Mr Borg Manduca knew that other tenderers did not meet some of the requirements of the call for tenders. Yet he had not taken action to disqualify companies which: did not have the capacity to handle the number of students they declared; did not hold an Education Department licence to teach IT; had not been providing IT courses for five years, and did not have facilities for people with disabilities.

Not only were these companies not disqualified, but the selection board was directed to raise their points so that they could be eligible for the contract.

The company called on Mr Borg Manduca to reverse his decisions by directing the selection board to act in a correct and regular manner.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Tuesday, January 6, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

lgalea (on 19/11/08)

K.Abela
The truth is coming out.
Can this be held to be corruption by the selection board?
If so, are any actions going to be taken against the board members for fiddling with the marks?
How can we be sure that other tenders for other contracts were not also fiddled with?
This is OUR MONEY they are talking about.

mary Pace, joyce aquilina
You have the adjudicating board to thank.
Re treating the matters expeditiously I more than agree with you, but as usual Gonzipn does not care about the working class and their children. Gonzipn's heart is with the high class and University.

Catherine Galea
Do you think it would have filed the protest of it didn't? It was the company that had originally been awarded most marks and was the only one that qualified.

Manuel Mifsud
Do you expect a company which did not qualify to be awarded a contract and then when it is found that it had suffered damages WE will make good for the damages?

Karl Camilleri (on 19/11/08)

@ G. Galea: Mr. Galea with all due respect I applied for the course in the beginning of summer. I've been calling the MCAST to ask for any response but MCAST always told me that we will be contacted soon... my friends started school since September in University and other schools, and I'm still waiting for this reply. I took a part time course so that I would not waste time, but do not say that Students are not suffering. I don't know what is happening with the contracts or with the winning of the contract. All I want to know is when am I going to START SCHOOL !!

joyce aquilina (on 19/11/08)

@mario bonnici
i am not blaming anyone, all i want to know is why has it got to take so long to solve this problem, it should have been taken more serious and it should have been taken as an urgent matter.
so were our children attending unqualified schools last year?
i hope this problem is soon solved cause already a lot of these youngsters are going to drop the ict course because they are not ready to attend school in summer because a lot of them need to work

G. Galea (on 19/11/08)

Let's not be dramatic! Nobody is suffering here. Any company awarded the contract gets regular audit visits to ensure that these students are receiving the same treatment other ICT students are. What needs to be seen here is, if in fact, the right company got the contract.

Mike Micallef (on 19/11/08)

It is not a question of a company wanting all the students. It is a question that the selection board itself had originally awarded points to this company beyond the threshold. Yesterday Evarist Bartolo made some damning accusations against the selection board on Super 1 radio. There is another damning report on another newspaper today. Shame on the Selection board chairman and he should resign.

J Farrugia (on 19/11/08)

@ Catherine Galea: if you care to see the motives this company is alleging, they are in the right. and the Board is wrong. We cannot have it that all companies will be awarded this tender. If they do not qualify they cannot have it their way. If they qualify its another matter. But from what this company is saying, it is in the irght and the Board Chairman is in the wrong, and he is letting down hundreds of students for making wrong decisions. According to the Board, those who do not even know how to teach, are going to teach our sons and daughters . Is this right.

Kirill Micallef Stafrace (on 19/11/08)

I believe this company has every right to complain. a tender process must be transparent and this one appears not to have been so. It is true that the potential students have not started their course, but at the same time it is only fair that any course they attend will be of the required standard- substandard teaching leads to substandard graduates who will consequently find employment harder. lets not be penny wise and pound foolish and not bring politics into the equation

Noel Cutajar (on 19/11/08)

@ Catherine Galea - you missed the boat by a mile - all the company is saying is that if the selection was just it would not have lodged a protest in Court. It is because such other companies did not have the necessary requisites that they files the judicial protest. I am sure that they are not dumb...

Manuel Mifsud (on 19/11/08)

Can someone explain a simple thing to me? Shouldn't the courses go on as scheduled and, if at a later stage, it is confirmed by the courts that a company suffered damages, it would be duly compensated? Why should students suffer because of complaints by third parties or court cases. If this procedure were to be followed in all other cases, then Malta would come at a standstill! Can someone explain please?

Catherine Galea (on 19/11/08)

The students and the teachers are suffering. This company wants to have all the students. Did it have all the permits when it tendered? It is greed and nothing else.

Mario Bonnici (on 19/11/08)

@mary pace & Joyce Aquilina

And whose fault is it ?
So do you expect that nobody takes action if there has been wrong doing??!!

mary Pace (on 19/11/08)

AND yet our students who are suffering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

joyce aquilina (on 19/11/08)

the 600 youngsters are taking the blame

K.Abela (on 19/11/08)

AHHHHH! So what Mr.Evarist bartolo was saying was true !!!!!!! So now who should be blamed.....

Company files protest against IT courses selection board chairman

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