Malta registered a “remarkable” 50 per cent increase over eight years in the number of students pursuing tertiary education, well ahead of the EU’s average growth of 20 per cent, according to the latest research.
The EU study, Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe – Funding and the Social Dimension 2011, shows a sharp rise in the number of Maltese students entering the University of Malta, the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology and other higher education institutions between 2000 and 2008.
Malta’s system – where tertiary education is free and all students are eligible for grants – has been described as “the Northern model” by the European Commission, as it only exists in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the richest EU countries.
The report shows that few other countries among the EU27 managed to achieve such a high level of growth, although there are some notable exceptions.
In Cyprus, for example, the number of students carrying on with their studies into tertiary education rose by 146 per cent – the fastest growing member state, followed by Romania (133 per cent) and Slovakia (70 per cent).
However, a Commission official described Malta’s results as “excellent” and auguring well for the future.
“Malta is still one of the EU member states with generally low levels of students continuing tertiary education. However, the developments witnessed in the last eight years have been remarkable and the island is on its way to full recovery if it continues with the current trends,” the official said.
Malta consistently registers the highest rate of early school leavers in the EU, although this has been on the decline. The island produces about 3,000 university graduates a year, a figure described as not enough by University Rector Juanito Camilleri earlier this month. The school population is about 52,000.
Prof. Camilleri and other top academics have called for a campaign to address the problem of students from certain parts of the country not taking up higher education.
The EU study also compared the various systems being adopted by member states to stimulate increased participation in tertiary education. Malta has one of the most generous systems in the EU, which the report calls a “no fees/full stipends policy” – a northern model. Sweden, Denmark and Finland are the only other member states where tertiary students are not obliged to pay any fees for their courses and also receive grants or stipends.
The Commission’s report noted that in Malta, all full-time courses are free and all students are entitled to a grant of €372 per month plus another €460 a year on top of another one-time €460 during first year.
Sweden, which applies the same model, gives students €316 a month, while in Finland stipends vary from €55 to €298 a month depending on the student’s income. If the student is not living with his parents, he is also entitled to another €201 a month as a housing supplement.
The most generous system is the one adopted in Denmark, which apart from free tuition gives monthly grants going up to €722 with added income for those students who become parents or single mothers.
In the majority of member states, tertiary students are obliged to pay for their tuition and receive no grants. Malta, which has a much lower GDP when compared to the northern member states, has been spending millions in stipends each year, a figure that increases every year as more students choose to continue studying.
Over the past few years there have been calls, particularly from the Central Bank governor, for the government to consider a revamp of the costly system. However, the government has been unyielding, insisting that stipends are an “investment” in Malta’s younger generation.
The Commission’s report calls upon member states generally to do more in this area, particularly by adapting higher education systems to meet the challenges resulting from rapid societal change.
In particular, the report urges member states to open up opportunities for more people to benefit from higher education, matching this objective with coherent measures, funding and monitoring to evaluate their impact.
Two years ago, EU leaders set a target for 40 per cent of 30- to 34-year-olds to have a higher education qualification by 2020, an increase from just over 33 per cent today.
Malta’s target is lower and was set at 33 per cent by 2020. The level reached in 2008 was 21 per cent.