Several students have yet to receive their first stipends this year, Times of Malta has learnt.

Students who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity said that while a number of their peers had received their stipends earlier this month others were still waiting.

When they contacted the maintenance grants department within the Education Ministry, the students said they were told that “due to a technical fault within the system, the payments of some applications were not processed”. A spokesman for the department, however, denied this.

“We have resolved the situation and you will be receiving the stipend, in arrears, with the next payment on December 29,” they said a support coordinator told the students.

The students also complained that, though it seemed the issue had been resolved and that they would be paid by the end of the month, it was unfair that some would receive their stipends before Christmas but others would have to wait until after the holiday season.

When contacted by this newspaper, a spokesman for the maintenance grants department denied there were any technical faults, insisting the issue was most likely stemming from the students not submitting their applications on time.

“I can confirm that there have not been any technical faults and any delays are due to other reasons, including the students filing the applications late,” the spokesperson said.

When informed that students had been told the delay was a result of a technical fault, the spokesman again denied, adding that all was in order and that students would be getting their stipends at the end of the month.

He said every application went through a vetting process and payment details had to be submitted two weeks prior to the payment date.

“For instance, we have already sent in all the information for the December 29 payments. Therefore, if students submitted the application late, they would not have received the first payment,” the spokesman said.

The affected students come from the Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary School, St Aloysius College and the Junior College.

Almost 4,000 students in post-secondary and Mcast received their first grants in October. A further 3,500 university students also received grants.

During the last scholastic year, spending on stipends grew to over €28 million.

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