Pia Darmanin, Bachelor of Psychology, third year.
The University Students Council (KSU) should be much more transparent with the allocation of funds. The money is there to be used to help out students and improve their campus life; so I believe we students should have more access to this information.
I have heard of where some of this money is being distributed. For example, I’ve heard of funds available for certain books needed by students but which are not currently available in our library.
On the other hand, I’m sure there are a lot of funds we don’t hear about and money being spent on things students aren’t aware of. Maybe KSU could make a yearly finance report and make this accessible to all University students.
I’m not sure whether such a report exists, but as the president of a student organisation, I find it strange that I’ve never heard of it or seen one. I do understand that when it comes to money there would be a lot of questioning and pressure, because mistakes in the case of funds could be harshly judged. However, this does not excuse not making this information available to the whole student body.
Shaun Abdilla, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, fourth year.
While KSU always quote certain financial statistics and say funds are going to be used for a generic reason, such as “to improve the library”, the allocation should be more specific and transparent. For example, in this case, KSU could elaborate that a said amount will go to “purchase more books for use in the library”.
Large sums of money are going around but nobody but KSU knows where the money is being spent. The KSU’s annual report for the past year, particularly the Financial Officer’s section, on no occasion reveals where the money given by the government to the University is spent, and the areas or departments benefiting from the money.
Many students want to know what those they elected are doing with their money, to make their University experience as comfortable as possible.
Michael Gauci, LLD, first year.
As many KSU executive members are good friends of mine, I trust the way KSU spends its funds. Furthermore, since KSU were voted for by the students, one would assume those students trust the way their representatives allocate funds.
On the other hand, there should be no reason for KSU not to publish the way it allocates funds. There are, of course, students who do not necessarily know the KSU team and who did not vote for the team, so they would obviously want a clearer picture when it comes to allocating funds.
I am somewhat aware KSU allocates certain funds to certain projects; however, if there is actually a specific medium through which spending information is released then I am not aware of this. Maybe a suggestion would be to make this readily available for all students.