Change in maintenance grant system should be sensitive to student needs: PN

The Nationalist Party has called on Minister Bartolo to ensure that maintenance grant applications are processed efficiently

PN calls for immediate action about delays in the new student's maintenance grants system
PN calls for immediate action about delays in the new student's maintenance grants system

“Students’ well-being is crucial to any educational system. Those who seek maintenance grants face burdens the to continuation of their education. A change in the process of such applications ought to have been more sensitive to their needs” PN said.  

The new student maintenance grant saw all smart cards being deactivated in August 2014. The new system meant that students would get a one-time payment into their account at the beginning of the scholastic year.

PN said that having been contacted by a number of students who expressed their concern about the delay in being told whether they qualify for the grant or not, PN Shadow Minister for Education Therese Comodini Cachia, has expressed her support for students facing this difficulty, particularly at a point in time when they are meant to focus their energy on the exams they face in their various programmes of studies.

After discovering that the delays were caused in the processing stage of maintenance grant applications, Comodini Cachia called on the Minister of Education Evarist Bartolo to ensure that sufficient resources are provided so that applications are processed efficiently.

“The government as a whole should keep its promise of reducing bureaucracy especially with vulnerable people” said Comodini Cachia.

“It is not ok for the most vulnerable students to be kept waiting. This causes undue stress and tension in their families and could jeopardise the peace of mind required for them to successfully face their exams. I expect the Minister of Education to intervene expediently to ensure that all pending applications are processed and payments made without further delay.”

The Nationalist Party has said that it calls on the Minister of Education to ensure that services would be provided efficiently and in a way that is sensitive to students’ needs. It further urges Minister Bartolo to provide sufficient resources for the efficient processing of these applications.

“The Nationalist Party takes this opportunity to wish the best of luck to those students sitting for exams throughout the coming weeks and will continue to listen to their concerns and to provide them and educational institutions with the necessary support” said Comodini Cachia.