Stipends a must - students

Most university student believe the stipend is either somewhat necessary or an absolute must, a survey by the Christian Democratic Students (SDM) has found.

The study was held among 400 students between last Tuesday and Wednesday.

SDM said that only four per cent of students deemed their stipend to be a luxury.

The organisation said it believes the stipend grant was an investment in education and in the future of the country. It was also a social grant with a large number of students depending on their stipend for basic necessities.

It stressed that stipends should remain for all full time Maltese and Gozitan students.

The introduction of means testing or some form of loan scheme attached to the stipends would result in unnecessary hardships for a number of students who, while qualifying under a particular category within the scales of wealth used, would still find student life unsustainable without the stipend, it sadi.

This did not mean that SDM excluded the possibility of discussing methods of making the investment used in the stipend grant more effective and rewarding.

SDM also called for a stronger dialogue between the government and the competent parties for an increase not only in funding but in the efficiency of use of such funding.

SDM said that when asked about university financing, 80.5 percent agreed with the need for further funding with 55.25 percent deeming such to be urgent and in desperate need. In the faculties of science, medicine and the institute of health care a staggering 95 percent felt the need for stronger financing.

This was a significantly higher percentage then say at the faculty of law, where 80 percent demanded higher financing.