The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, in a statement on Monday, voiced its concern that a statutory Board of Appeal, provided for in the Mutual Recognition of Qualifications Act (Cap. 451) has not been functioning since January of this year.

It said that the issue came to the attention of the Office after that a third country national regularly working in Malta sought to appeal an assessment of the Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC).

The Office went on to say that on the 7th of May, in a Final Opinion issued by the Commissioner for Education, it was recommended that the MQRIC Appeals Board, provided for in Article 7 of Cap. 451, should be “constituted in such a way that it can commence to function forthwith so as to give concrete substance to the right of appeal” of persons seeking a revision of the original assessment.

The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman added that it was informed that “the process of appointing new Board members is already under way to ensure an effective appeals remedy.”

Regrettably, the Office noted that it appears that up to last week only the Secretary of the Appeals Board had been appointed, as the designated chairperson of the Board was still “awaiting approval from the respective authority.”

The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman said it ”enjoins the authority whose approval is still awaited to act without further delay to ensure the proper functioning of the above mentioned MQRIC Appeals Board.”

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