As things stand, Malta already has the lowest percentage of students who continue their studies at a post-secondary level in the EU.

According to Paul Gonzi, president of Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU), the stipend system is “an intrinsic need for Maltese society.” Stipends are of great financial aid to all students, and every student who wishes to continue studying should have the opportunity to do so.

Similarly, David Zahra, president of Studenti Demokristjani Maltin (SDM), pointed out that education should be “accessible to all”, and that it is the state’s duty to help those who wish to continue their studies.

Both SDM and left-wing student organisation PULSE called for a better management of funds by the university. There is over-spending in various faculties and departments, and the budget allotted each year is being exceeded. According to Opposition Leader Alfred Sant, the university deficit this year is estimated at around Lm1.5 million.

PULSE president Chris Bonett pointed out that “there is a big waste of the university funds in unnecessary travelling, ‘office expenses’, telephone/mobile calls and unnecessary IT equipment upgrades”. PULSE suggested that for the government to solve the university’s financial problems, “effective and real controls” had to be implemented on the various “departments and faculties in order to curb abuses”.

This view is shared by SDM’s David Zahra, who also said that the university had to improve management of its funds, and bring itself up-to-date.

Certain university departments are still making use of equipment bought over 10 years ago, while others have problems renewing laboratory supplies. The library needs to update its collections – some departments have not had their book lists updated in years. Students attending certain courses do not even make use of the library since the most recent publications found in the library go back to the 1970s. This leaves the student with no choice but to buy the books needed for the course.

Paul Gonzi of KSU also added that the government should curb abuse on the smart card system by restricting and monitoring its use in the various outlets.

All three organisations disagree with the introduction of a loan system, claiming that students do not need the extra financial burden of repaying the loan after finishing studying.

Both Moviment Graffitti and SDM stressed the importance of not linking education solely with work, as otherwise it would become a functional and utilitarian choice which would discourage students from continuing studying out of choice.

In a previous press release, Moviment Graffitti agreed that incentives should be introduced for courses that “reflect the country’s social and economic needs and that are characterised by an insufficient number of students”. Paul Gonzi said that KSU is against any disincentive schemes where students attending particular courses will have their stipends reduced or abolished in order to cut down on the number of applicants. On the other hand, SDM and KSU agree that certain courses require more income than others and that the educational grant should vary accordingly. All three student bodies, KSU, PULSE and SDM, believe that while the basic stipend should be equal for everyone, those in need should qualify for an extra stipend to help them financially.

KSU survey results

At present there are 5,846 full-time Maltese students eligible to receive a stipend. Last month, KSU carried out a survey to determine the effects of different theoretical models of the stipend system. There were a total of 350 respondents, randomly chosen from the student register.

The social grant refers to the stipend system, which currently stands at Lm54 every four weeks for most courses, while the educational grant refers to the initial Lm400 provided during first year, and the yearly Lm200 grant accessible through a swipe card.

Table 1 describes the five different models and the estimated number of students that would decrease respectively. Table 2 is the percentage of the respondents’ choice of action if stipend model one and five were implemented. This study was handed to the Chalmers Commission and the complete results will be presented next week.