MCAST’s Student Council KSM has condemned the government’s omission of working students in its supplementary grants for employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it stands, students are not eligible for the government’s €500 supplement to part-time workers whilst simultaneously receiving their monthly stipends of around €80. 

“Although we congratulate the government for taking all possible precautions, we would like to state that it was not a rightful decision to prevent students from applying for supplementary funds when they have been suspended from their rightful jobs due to the current pandemic,” the organisation said in a statement today.

KSM urged the government to reconsider its decision, arguing that students cannot rely on their stipend alone amid the health crisis.

“This is because every institution around Malta and Gozo contains students which have their own families to raise, we have students that ought to buy expensive equipment for them to continue their studies and also students which are fruitful to their families due to financial support,” they continued.

“Students should not be made to choose between their stipend or their part-time job since it is their right to receive their stipend as much as it is their right to apply for a part-time job.”

Meanwhile, Pulse, another student body at the University of Malta, also come out against the government’s exclusion of working students from the wage supplement scheme. 

A petition for students to be included in the government’s scheme has been launched.

What do you think of the government’s decision?