University rector proposes pay-back or tax-cut options

Students should be given the choice to either pay back their stipend once they graduated or benefit from tax cuts instead of receiving their monthly €84 grant, University rector Juanito Camilleri proposed.

"Some students may feel they do not really need a stipend and may prefer to benefit from lower taxation once they graduate," he said.

However, those who opt to receive a stipend should commit to pay it back in small instalments once they are financially sound to do so.

He stressed that stipends were a privilege not a right and should be revised to send out that message.

He warned that if the number of students in tertiary education doubled, as was being projected, it would be next to impossible to sustain stipends in their present form. "Stipends should only be available to those who feel they cannot afford to pursue their studies otherwise," he said.

His comments come after The Times published the results of a student survey carried out by the campus newspaper The Insiter, which found that one in 10 students were willing to have their stipend removed. Although the survey had a small sample of 130, it was still an interesting shift from the usual "don't-touch-my-stipends" attitude by students.

According to a spokesman of the University Students' Council, the survey revealed that some students were starting to realise their pocket money could be better used if it is invested in quality education.

Under the rector's proposal, students who do not need their stipend should be able to donate it to a University Trust Fund for development, research and innovation and, in return, they would get tax credits once they graduate. This is a proposal Prof. Camilleri had made in 2006.

"This would bring the University of Malta in line with universities in the USA, the UK and many other developed countries in the world," he said.

This means that the new system would not require means-testing, so the burden to decide which students require stipends will not be placed on the authorities; the evaluation will be made by the students themselves.

"I am proposing that we challenge our youth to make important personal choices with a sense of civic responsibility. I believe that such choices will strengthen their moral fibre," Prof. Camilleri said.

He said the system would also engage students more fully in their educational process and would encourage them to rightfully expect better quality all round.

"The current form of stipends is siphoning off money which may otherwise be invested in the delivery of better quality education."

But whenever politicians tried to discuss the stipends issue they were met with a chorus of disapproval. Hasn't the issue become too politicised and taboo to even be discussed?

"Yes, it has become too politicised but that does not mean that it will never change. If reasoned and practical alternatives are brought forward I believe new ways can be forged," Prof. Camilleri replied.

He insisted also that, if executed properly, the revisions would not negatively affect student intake, echoing a number of reports that have argued in the same way.

He stressed that stipends should not be used to influence a students' choice of subject because the job market could do that itself. "That said, it is also true that students of certain disciplines incur much higher costs than others to sustain their education. So not all stipends for all disciplines should be equal," he concluded.

The stipends issue came to the fore recently after a European Commission report blamed them for delivering less than satisfactory outcomes while increasing public spending.

The Education Ministry defended the grants and said the government was committed to the maintenance grants issue even though the National Commission for Higher Education is reviewing the system.

The University Students' Council has issued a report calling for "quality over quantity" and for the government to focus on "quality education rather than just stipends and buildings".

cperegin@timesofmalta.com