Language schools rocked by cut in Spanish scholarship

Local language schools are bracing themselves for a decrease in Spanish student arrivals this summer, after the Spanish government unexpectedly reduced the amount scholarship students will receive to study English in Malta by €500 compared with previous years.

Eligible Spanish students will receive €1,200 to pursue a three-week English course in Malta this year, down from €1,700 last year.

However, they will continue to receive €1,700 to study an equivalent course in the UK or Ireland - Malta’s main competitors in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) industry.

Last month, in response to concerns that the Spanish government would scrap or water down the scholarship scheme - known as Becas MEC - as it attempts to reduce its budget deficit, the Spanish Embassy told The Sunday Times there is no reason to expect a decrease in the number of Spanish students arriving in Malta.

Following news of the €500 reduction, the embassy did not respond to questions last week about why the amount had been reduced for Malta and what effect it could have on arrivals.

However, industry sources said they had been told by the Spanish Embassy the decision was made by its government without consulting the embassy, and it was justified because the cost of living in Malta was cheaper compared with the UK and Ireland.

No formal announcement about the reduction was made by the embassy - language schools learnt about it through agents acting on their behalf in Spain.

Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta (Feltom) president Alex Fenech and executive director Isabelle Pace Warrington told The Sunday Times that although local language schools would remain competitive in the Spanish market, the majority were expecting a decrease in Spanish arrivals as Becas students would automatically consider destinations that offered more funding.

They said that although the cost of living may be slightly cheaper in Malta, the difference was not enough to warrant such a big reduction, and the UK in particular benefitted from myriad low-cost air routes to Spain compared with Malta.

Using National Statistics Office (NSO) figures on English language students, Mr Fenech and Ms Pace Warrington demonstrated that Spanish Becas students had kept the market buoyant in Malta since the scheme was introduced in 2007, making up for losses in other markets.

Last year’s NSO figures, which were released on March 16, show Spanish students contributed 18.4 per cent of the total English language student weeks spent in Malta - the highest out of all nationalities. They have contributed high percentages of student weeks every year since 2007, which was the local EFL industry’s best ever year in terms of arrivals.

Ms Pace Warrington said that total student weeks were more important for the industry and the economy in general than the total number of arrivals, as students spent more the longer they stayed.

Mr Fenech and Ms Pace Warrington were also critical of perceptions that students don’t contribute much to the local economy and cause harm to Malta’s image with rowdy behaviour, pointing out that over 60 per cent of students are adults who spend money on accommodation and leisure activities.

“Many young adults come to Malta for holidays and if any of them cause problems, people assume they’re students. When one or two young adult language students do cause problems, people blame the schools, but people don’t blame hotels when their guests cause problems,” Mr Fenech said.

Overall, 72,695 foreigners studied at specialised English language schools in Malta last year, an increase of 5.5 per cent over recession-hit 2009.

This figure is still significantly lower than the 83,952 who arrived in 2007, but Feltom are hopeful of figures improving again this year despite the Becas reduction and uncertainty generated by the situation in Libya, which is likely to contribute to a significant number of late bookings.

Significant growth markets last year were Russia, which has been steadily growing year-on-year, Brazil and Turkey.

These markets are important as they provide long-stay students who often come in the shoulder months.