The Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation has stated that through Budget 2025, the government has allocated over €1 billion to finance measures relevant to its sectors of concern.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Youth, Research and Innovation, Keith Azzopardi Tanti, has stated that in comparison to last year's budget, these sectors will be bolstered financially by an additional €93 million worth of measures.
Minister Clifton Grima said that "this is a government that in fact is giving priority to the most important sectors to our country's economy - education and sports - through an unprecedented investment." He described education as being "essential" to the country's prosperity, continuing that strong education allows Malta to keep moving forward and be more successful.
Among the measures mentioned during this discourse, Grima mentioned the three-year €1500 allowance (€500/year) to students who continue progressing through their education past the compulsory age of learning, worth a total of €6 million; work on the educational infrastructure to modernize and maintain 100+ schools over the next 13 years, worth over €18 million; and other initiatives, such as the €20 vouchers that are to be given to each primary and secondary school student to be spent on books in the National Book Fair.
The Education Minister stressed that the greatest investment the country can make is in its human resources, which he labelled as "the best resources our country has." He said that this was recently reflected in the signed sectoral agreement with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) that affected 8,600 educators.
He also mentioned the recent "Educators as policymakers" policy, the pro-rata COLA increase to student stipends, the extension of the one-tablet-per-child scheme, amongst others.
PS Azzopardi Tanti explained that through this year's Budget, the government is "laying down the foundations for a resilient, innovative and inclusive Malta, with a strong emphasis on our young people and on research that brings real solutions."
He added that by doubling investment in cancer research, providing more opportunities to potential homeowners, and improving access to technology education, the government is not only addressing current needs, but it is also "building a quality future for our country."