Record numbers of Maltese students benefitted from a placement in the EU as part of the Erasmus programme in the last academic year, according to figures released in Brussels yesterday.
The news comes as hundreds of students are still coming to terms with the disappointing news that the funds for the EU educational youth exchange programmes were suspended because of mismanagement.
The figures show that although Malta's participation is higher than the EU average when the eligible student population is taken into account, Malta is actually hosting four students for every one it sends.
According to an EU official, the situation will be different once the results of the current year are announced next year due to the suspension of funds.
"Malta was really making good progress when it came to Erasmus participation, so much so that during the last academic year (2008/2009) the number of students taking part was the highest registered since 2000," he said.
"Unfortunately, since Malta's participation this year is frozen, with some exceptions, it will not be possible for the island to register more progress next year.
"We hope the situation will be normalised soon although there is no date yet when the suspension will be lifted," he added.
According to the European Commission, in the 2008/2009 academic year 151 Maltese students landed a study or job placement in the EU. This represents an increase of 29 per cent over the previous academic year or 1.54 per cent of the student population eligible. The average of participants in the EU stood at 0.92 per cent during the same academic year.
Once again, Italy and the UK proved to be the preferred destinations among Maltese students with 37 opting to go to the neighbouring country, and 26 spending their placement in the UK. Other popular destinations were Belgium, Finland and Denmark.
Since Malta started taking part in this EU scheme, a total of 933 students have benefitted from an EU grant of €255 a month during the period of placement.
The grant was last year increased to €272 a month. Apart from this direct grant, Maltese students entitled to a stipend keep receiving their monthly benefit from state coffers while on a placement abroad.
Meanwhile, Malta proves to be very popular among foreign students seeking an Erasmus experience and during the last academic year 616 students spent some time studying and working in Malta.
The majority, 131 students, arrived from France, followed by Italy (90), Germany (80), Spain (59) and the UK (44), among others.
EU educational programmes are also quite popular among teachers and academic staff who can benefit from a teaching placement abroad.
In the 2008/2009 academic year, Malta sent 78 teachers abroad on this scheme and hosted 180 from other member states.