Anxious students hoping to receive their first stipends were again left empty-handed despite promises the matter would be settled by the end of last month.
Speaking to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, students said they were told by the stipends office that, due to a technical problem, payments had been delayed. They were informed they would receive the stipends for October, November and December at the end of last month. However, come December 29, the date when the stipends were issued, not everyone received theirs.
This newspaper reported last month that while a number of students had received the stipends on time, others were still waiting.
When they contacted the maintenance grants department in 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”.
READ: Students complain about missing stipends
A spokeswoman for the department, however, attributed the delay to other reasons, mainly students filing the applications late.
Other applications were still pending due to missing or erroneous details
When asked about this, the students insisted they had observed all deadlines and had submitted their duly filled-in applications on time.
When informed that students had been told the delay was a result of a technical fault, the spokeswoman again denied it, adding that everything was in order and that the students would be getting their stipends at the end of the month (December).
Contacted about the students again not receiving their stipends, an Education Ministry spokeswoman said yesterday there were still students who had not submitted their application. Other applications were still pending due to missing or erroneous details or because the necessary documentation was lacking, she added.
“Once an application is approved and accepted, students are requested via SMS and e-mail to confirm application, and automatically students’ details are processed for payment,” the spokeswoman said.
All the students who had confirmed their online application by the first week of December, she continued, were included in the payment due on December 29, which covered the November period. This applied to 17,234 students, all of them having received maintenance grants, the spokeswoman insisted.
During the last scholastic year, spending on stipends grew to over €28 million.
All Maltese students in post-secondary institutions are entitled to a monthly stipend, an annual grant and a one-time grant upon enrolment. Some students are also eligible to a supplementary grant, depending on specific needs.
The next stipend payment is due January 28.