Reforms to student maintenance grant schemes

A reform of the students' maintenance grant scheme will be introduced in the next academic year, the government announced last week.

The reform is part of a commitment undertaken by the government to sustain the overall participation rates in higher education and to ensure that more students can access higher levels of education, according to a pre-budget consultation document published last week.

The document, entitled A Better Quality of Life for 2006-2010, was launched by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech and OPM Permanent Secretary Godwin Grima during a press conference last Saturday.

The government said it aims to increase the resources necessary to sustain the institutions in providing more and better educational services to achieve its higher participation rates objective. It is prepared to divert Malta's limited resources to education rather than other sectors "because the success of the other sectors depends on the success of our educational system".

While university students who benefited from the current basic grants scheme until last June will continue to benefit from the scheme under the current regulations, one of the reforms will affect the card scheme grants for new university students, which will vary according to whether the course requires high equipment costs or not.

Claude Sciberras, communications co-ordinator at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment, said that students reading for a first degree will still be entitled to a basic monthly stipend and a basic annual grant through the card scheme. However, the government plans to introduce reforms in the form of differentiated support according to the indirect education expenditure involved for each course.

"The student maintenance grant scheme is currently made up of a capital and annual grant through the card scheme, a monthly stipend and supplementary grants," Mr Sciberras explained. "Card scheme grants for new tertiary level students will depend on the type of course and related costs. While reforms will start operating from next academic year for the newly enrolled university students, they will be announced after appropriate consultation." The consultation period runs till September 30.

Another development is in regard to the Youth Specialisation Scheme, an initiative between the Ministry of Education, Youth and Employment and APS Bank for students to apply for a loan at a subsidised rate of interest to further their studies abroad or to follow distant learning courses, provided that the courses of study are not held in Malta. The scheme will now also cater for higher education courses in Malta.

The government also plans to increase the financial incentives for students who rely heavily on supplementary grants and to introduce a special supplementary scheme for Gozitan students, to ensure they are fully encouraged to further their tertiary education.

On the other hand, the current student support schemes for students in the post-secondary level - Junior College, private sixth forms, High Secondary School, MCAST and ITS - will remain unchanged, Mr Sciberras said.

Currently, the number of 17-year-olds enrolled in higher education, as declared in the National Action Plan for Employment of 2004, suggests that an estimated target of 65 per cent of 22-year-olds will have obtained at least upper secondary education by 2010. It is also estimated that if post-secondary targets move up to 85 per cent participation in 10 years' time, there will be an increase of 1,500 students in post-secondary institutions; while if targets for tertiary education increase from 23 per cent to 30 per cent in five years' time, there will be an increase of 2,000 university students.

To achieve these targets, the government also plans to increase the resources necessary to sustain these institutions, to provide for a better guidance service advising about new areas of research and "to shift the basis of finance from the institution to the student," the document states. It is also aimed that the institutions increase their capacity and improve their educational services.

Mr Sciberras explained that "the process requires various developments to be in place". These would be a few of the processes to be put in place to get to that situation:

¤ Set up of new structures in the field of higher education, for example, a Higher Education Commission.

¤ Refinement of zero-based budgets and formula funding mechanisms with the institutions.

¤ An improved quality assurance mechanism.

¤ A sound accreditation system.

¤ A shift from funding to institution to funding the students to attend any institution of their choice.

The document, intended as a precursor to the 2006 budget, also announced the setting up of the Government of Malta Scholarship Fund, aimed at outstanding students to pursue post-graduate studies in identified areas.

Improving standards of education

In the pre-budget consultation document, the government proposed other reforms aimed at providing quality education for all, which it believes is the key to long-term sustainable change and developments.

In the compulsory education sector, it reiterated what was extensively proposed in the strategy document published last month, entitled For All Children To Succeed - the grouping of primary and secondary schools into autonomous colleges and a unified regulation for state, Church and private schools.

Although the first three colleges - Cottonera, Karwija and Gozo - are due to start functioning next month, the framework requires new schools to be sited, built or rehabilitated, which the government has undertaken to provide for in collaboration with the Foundation for Tomorrow's Schools and through a 10-year multi-million project, with an intent to accelerate the pace of reform implementation.

Regarding further and higher education, encompassing the University of Malta, MCAST, post-secondary and higher secondary institutions and international higher education institutions (often operating through local agents), the government said it had a responsibility to ensure that all institutions adhere to recognised standards through proper accreditation and licencing and that public funds are well spent.

The document also said that these institutions should respond to the needs of the industry and the economy.

A national vocational qualification framework is being proposed with the aim of increasing the number of mature students, since the number of school-leavers is set to decrease while the number of elderly workers will increase.

The framework would allow an easy comparison and clear understanding of different qualifications, which together with policies on access, transfer and progression would encourage mature students to progress to tertiary education.

Finally, the document emphasises the advantages of having a sound knowledge of both spoken and written English.

While a newly-legislated National Council for the Maltese Language will make sure that our native language is strengthened, educational institutions are encouraged to aim at attaining a good command of the English language.