A number of students who were given stipends and allowances which they were not entitled to, ended up keeping them, in contrast to others who  refunded the money promptly when the mistake was realised, the auditor general has reported.

He said that a group of six students, who were awarded a scholarship, were still issued with a monthly maintenance grant of €146.75, as well as with a one-time Smart Card top-up amounting to €1,397.62 to each student. Apparently, these students were not entitled to the maintenance grants since, on 17 May 2010. Following a Malta Government Scholarship Scheme Board meeting, it was decided that refunds were to be requested from these students. As a result, notices were sent to the six individuals, asking them to reimburse the extra grants paid to them.

However, on 28 October 2010, it was decided that  students were not to pay for the mistakes made by the Ministry.

By that date, however,   two students had refunded all the grants.

"Thus, those who were not prompt in their repayment ended up better off," the auditor said.

GHOST STUDENTS

The auditor also reported that testing which the audit office carried out revealed five students whose names featured on the list of students attending a Post-Secondary College, forwarded to it by the ministry and who were paid a stipend for the period chosen in the audit sample, i.e. 10 June to 7 July 2010. However, the students could not be traced to any of the independent source documentation obtained directly from the Colleges.

"Thus, the eligibility to receive maintenance grants and the correctness of payments effected in this respect, could not be ensured."

On the other hand, nine individuals, included in the lists of students  were not paid a stipend during scholastic year 2009/2010. The non-entitlement to a maintenance grant could be justified if these students were repeating the scholastic year. However, the information forwarded by the Colleges failed to indicate the nine students as repeaters. Furthermore, none of these individuals featured on the list made available by the ministry.