A 17-year-old who is repeating his first year at Junior College will miss out on his first two stipend allowances, after not being notified that he should apply online. In addition, his mother, who is a widow, also missed out on the first two instalments of the widow's pension for the same reason.

The case was revealed in parliament on Tuesday 9 December, by spokesperson of the opposition Joe Cassar.  During the parliamentary session, Dr Cassar read out a letter sent to him by the mother, explaining the situation.

The 17-year-old was not made aware that he should apply online to receive his stipend, before the deadline closed online on 30 November. The mother contacted the education department, and she was told that the youngster may apply for the next grant; however he will not be given the ones he missed. The mother, a widow, was also left unaware that she would need to apply for a supplementary grant online.

In comments to this newsroom, the person in question explained that following the parliamentary session, she was contacted by Minister Evarist Bartolo who said he will be looking into the situation and doing his best to ensure the family members receive the allowance they have missed out on.

In the Budget for the year 2014, it was revealed that students repeating their year at sixth form will still be eligible for a maintenance grant. The stipends for repeating students are not given automatically, but rather, after each student's performance is reviewed and a decision is taken based on effort. Students who do not attend classes or examinations are not eligible. The first stipend for repeaters was issued in March of this year.