The University of Malta Academic Staff Association criticised recent changes to the monthly stipend students are paid, claiming arts and humanities courses are “de-prioritised”.

On Saturday, the Education Ministry announced that students reading for a course in 46 courses across a variety of subjects such as social work and Artificial Intelligence will receive a higher stipend this year.

Students will receive different amounts depending on their course, which are divided into three classifications- ‘general’, ‘prescribed’ and ‘high priority’.

Classifying courses into different stipend levels creates a hierarchy, sending out the “message that they are valued differently,” the academic union wrote in a press statement on Saturday.

“We believe that all disciplines should be valued equally; that the humanities and arts, and the other areas ‘de-prioritised’ under this scheme, provide an important contribution to society”.

Students following a ‘general course’ receive a stipend of €106, those reading ‘prescribed’ courses receive €187, while a ‘high priority’ course will earn followers €375 a month.

On Friday, student organisations slammed the Education Ministry for side-lining arts and humanities courses by giving priority to STEM subjects.

Moviment Graffitti along with 17 other student organisations said that the reform reveals the Ministry's primary goal of "churning out workers" rather than promoting intellectual growth.

In total, 46 courses will be newly categorised over a period of three years, and according to the ministry, over 4,400 new students will benefit from the reform.