Student stipend applications to open on Tuesday, Education Ministry expects over 16,000 to benefit

Students will be able to apply online for the maintenance grants starting on the 1st of October, the Ministry for Education said on Monday.It said that it is important that students apply before the end of December 2024 so that they would be able to

By: independent.com.mt

Sep 30 2024
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Student stipend applications t

Students will be able to apply online for the maintenance grants starting on the 1st of October, the Ministry for Education said on Monday.

It said that it is important that students apply before the end of December 2024 so that they would be able to benefit from the stipend from the beginning of the academic year. The Ministry said that it is expected that over 16,000 students will benefit from the grants.

During a visit to the Junior College and Giovanni Curmi Higher Secondary, Education Minister Clifton Grima said that during the academic year, the second phase of improvement in the classification of a number of courses offered will come into force from MCAST at Level 4 and from the University of Malta at Level 6 of the Maltese Qualifications Framework.

The Ministry said that this is the second year during which more MCAST students following courses at Level 4 of the MQF will benefit from a higher rate in the stipend and grants to which they are entitled. It said that the courses which will be benefiting are the following: Advanced Diploma in IT (Computer Systems and Networks), Advanced Diploma in IT (Multimedia Software Development), Advanced Diploma for Pharmacy Technicians, and Advanced Diploma in Applied Science.

It added that with these, there are also new specialisations offered by MCAST of the Advanced Diploma in Industrial Electronics: Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Computer Technology); Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Biomedical Technology); Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Telecommunications Technology); Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Control Technology); Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Electrical Power Technology); Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Domestic Installations); and Advanced Diploma Industrial Electronics (Electronic Circuit Manufacturing).

The Education Ministry said that students in the aforementioned courses will benefit from stipends and grants related to the prescribed category instead of the general category.

It continued that from this year, students of the UoM who are studying to become doctors, particularly the course 'Doctor of Medicine and Surgery', will also benefit from a higher rate in their stipends and grants. It said that these students will also benefit from stipends and grants of the prescribed category rather than the general one.

The Ministry said that the process related to students at the UoM who start at the Bachelor's level in the upcoming courses mentioned and choose to continue studying at the Master's level in teaching and learning in order to become educators will also be continued so that they can benefit from the stipends and grants tied to the high priority category. The courses are the following: Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biology; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geosciences and Mathematics; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geosciences and Physics; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geosciences and Statistics and Operations Research; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Chemistry; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics and Philosophy; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics and Physics; Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics and Statistics and Operations Research; and Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics and Statistics and Operations Research.

Minister Grima concluded by saying that the biggest investment that can be made is in the best resource that the country has, "the human resource". He said that the government is doing this in a "concrete way with this review and from which not only the student will benefit, but the country in general". He said that this is because the supply of necessary competencies and skills of the economy is being strengthened.