Gozitan students, who comprise 10 per cent of the university student population, deserve to be respected and appreciated like any other Maltese or foreign student, Charmaine Cordina, the president of the Gozo University students association (GUG), told The Malta Independent on Sunday.
GUG is currently lobbying to address certain difficulties faced by Gozitan students, particularly with regard to transport and accommodation.
A large majority of Gozitan university students rent a room or a small apartment in the vicinity of the university during the week, and travel to Gozo on Friday evenings to spend the weekend with their families.
Ms Cordina explained that the University Residence in Lija was originally meant to cater for Gozitan students, but it was more worthwhile for the university to charge higher rates and cater for foreign students instead.
“We often face problems on the bus to and from Cirkewwa. Bus drivers rarely charge the same price if you happen to be carrying a sizeable suitcase (even if very few of them have some form of rack where luggage can be stowed).
“The price of a bus ticket from university to Cirkewwa is e0.58, and the price for a suitcase is meant to be e0.35, but I have been harassed by bus drivers and there have been times when I’ve been charged an extra e1 just because I was carrying a suitcase. There have also been times when I was not allowed to board the bus because I had a suitcase, even though I was willing to pay.”
Gozitan university students are given a supplementary grant of e116 a month to cover costs not incurred by Maltese students.
The university authorities do not, however, take into consideration students following courses where certain practices have to be carried out in Malta during the summer months.
Ms Cordina said GUG wanted Gozitan students to change their attitude with regard to the grant.
“Often enough, just because Gozitan students are given a supplementary grant, they seem to take it for granted that they should remain silent,” she said.
Very few students are aware that there is an additional grant for transport expenses (about e16 every three months), she said, because nobody tells them about it.
Neither do students know about a student card issued by the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) that entitles university students to reduced bus fares, said Ms Cordina.
“Are we second class students? We do not want to be portrayed as victims in any way. We are fighters and we learn a lot from the experience of having to fend for ourselves if we want to study at university, but we expect to be treated with respect.
“We are not pests invading Malta. And besides we do account for about 10 per cent of the 9,000-or-so university student population,” she said.
Asked how much a Gozitan normally pays for accommodation in the vicinity of the university, Ms Cordina said prices start from about e93 a month (excluding utility bills as well as no television, washing machine or telephone), but landowners have been abusing of Gozitan students lately and the prices have been on the increase.
The GUG president explained that the association has sent a survey to the three main political parties, asking them what their views on the needs of Gozitan university students are.
“We’ve received feedback from Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) and the Labour Party so far, and two meetings were held with AD and Minister for Gozo Giovanna Debono, who both showed their willingness to support us.
“One of the things we are looking into, for instance, is the possibility of being able to sit for exams in Gozo, and use the video conferencing room at the Gozo University Centre for seminars and meetings,” said Ms Cordina.