In a statement, Mr Abela said the tariff was introduced this year for the first time and has to be paid by every student as an administrative charge upon applying for a course at the university.

In a report by Professor Josef Lauri, it was confirmed that while the number of students attending the university has increased steadily over the years, this increase had not been matched by the funds allocated to the university.

The same report outlined a number of problems that have never been attended to by the government, he added.

There is every indication that the university was pressured by government to take this decision in order to compensate for its bad financial state, Mr Abela said. “When asked in parliament about the matter, Minister Louis Galea simply tabled a statement by the university, trying to give the impression that the government had nothing to do with the decision.

“However, it is good to note that the university council includes members representing the government, a fact which makes the government’s involvement clear,” Mr Abela added.

The bad state of the university’s finances are not a secret, as was testified by the number of people who felt they had to express their concern in the media, said Mr Abela. “If we want our country to be competitive it is vital that more people attend university.”

In a statement issued a year-and-a-half ago, the government said there was a need to consider a different financing system for the university and MCAST, said Mr Abela, in order to make sure that they have adequate financing to keep up with the ever-increasing number of students as well as to meet the rising level of quality.

Up to now this has not happened, he said, and now the university has had to introduce this tariff because government is not supplying sufficient funds, despite frequent flowery speeches, he added.