Minister for Education, Justyne Caruana, announced another monetary incentive targetting those Gozitan educators and students who, on a daily basis, have to communte back and forth between Gozo and Malta. The maximum yearly monetray incentive for this scheme tallies to a maximum of €250 per student per year.
This budget measure, and considering the various monetary incentives introduced during the last few years, will continue to reduce the financial burden incureed by Gozitans who live in Gozo and have to commute to Malta for work or to get their education, the government said.
This EDU Fast Ferry incentive will be reimbursed, while the eligible applicants will continue to benefit from all the other incentives for which they are entitled to as Gozitans.
Through this scheme, the government is encouraging educators and students to make use of the mode of cleaner transport, while reducing substantially the travel time.
Students who are studying at the Junior College, the University of Malta and MCAST, and all educators residing in Gozo who carry out his/her teaching profession in Malta, are eligible to benefit from this scheme.
The reimbursement, covering a substantial part of the fare, will be paid every three months, in arrears, and is paid independent on the fast ferry service operator.
Those eligible individuals who would like to benefit from this scheme, should apply online by filling the application form, which form is uploaded on the Ministry for Education website. The closing date to apply is Wednesday 3 November 2021.
The holders of the EDU Fast Ferry Card, do not need to present proof of purchase for them to get the reimbursement, since the verification is going to be done electronically through the information technology both fast ferry operators have in place.
Only those trips carried out during scholastic days are valid for reimbursement.
When announcing the EDU Fast Ferry Scheme, Minister Justyne Caruana mentioned that “This year’s Budget, continues to build on incentives introduced in previous budgets, all aimed at investing in our students and educators. And this is being done because our younger generation is the future of this country, while the educator is the catalyst and collaborator to this generation for them to become a responsible citizen. It is for this reason, that in this Budget, this Government is investing eight hundred million euros in the education sector. This is how this Government is adopting the appropriate strategies to make ‘Malta li rridu għal-Uliedna’.”