(Adds Education Ministry statement)
The University's budget is being slashed by €2 million despite the Rector's repeated calls for an increase, the opposition's spokesman for higher education, Owen Bonnici, said today.
He was speaking at a press conference with Evarist Bartolo, the Opposition spokesman for education, who listed unofficial figures of how the budget for education is being reduced by €7.6 million.
Mr Bartolo noted that funding for the development of a science centre by the Education Ministry has been scaled back by 71% - from €14,000 to €4,000 - despite Maltese pupils' weaknesses in the science sector.
He recalled that last January he had asked what cutbacks there would be in the education sector as part of the overall €40m cut in the government's Budget. At the time he was told by the minister that there would be no cutbacks.
Yet On January 6, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech had written to Education Minister Dolores Cristina telling her that there would be a €7.6m cut in the Education budget.
Employees in the Foundation for Educational Services received a letter on March 6 telling them that their budget was being reduced by 5%. This, Mr Bartolo said, was a cruel cut as these people helped the weakest pupils in Malta.
Listings other cuts, Mr Bartolo said the government allocation to Church schools was being reduced by €1 million. Student Maintenance Grants were down by €100,000 and Special Education Programmes were down by €20,000 - over and above the cuts in Inspire. The Malta Government Scholarship Fund is being reduced by €9,000, the Band Music Trainee Scheme by €25,000 and the Education Initiatives and Afternoon School Programmes were both being reduced by €15,000.
Dr Bonnici, said there was a cut of over €2m in the University Budget and of €770,000 in the budget for Mcast. There was a cut of €430,000 for the Junior College, €70,000 for the libraries and €16,000 for the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools.
He noted that in the past, University Rector Juanito Camilleri had actually called on the government to raise the University recurrent budget.
Dr Bonnici said he was calling on the government not to pursue these anti-social approach.
Mr Bartolo said these figures had been leaked to him from within the Education Ministry.
In a statement, the Education Ministry said that the budget for this year was €15.4 million more than it was for last year. So all services would continue to be given. The only government that had been miserly with education was a Labour one and as minister, Mr Bartolo had sent students for loans to continue studying.
The ministry said that the government was revising its expenditure only because of the worsening economic crisis internationally so that if this had an impact on Malta the country would have the necessary resources to safeguard employment.
However, the ministry had been careful to ensure that the budget cut would not be in capital investment or essential services.
As for Church schools, the government was committed to honour all its obligations. The government also decided not to reduce students' stipends, the ministry said.