A university student organisation, Pulse, has called on the government to re-think its decision to leave working university students out of the COVID-19 supplement after some were left with mounting expenses and little to no income.

A Maltese student who works part-time in the food-service industry recently told Lovin Malta how she had suddenly found her monthly income slashed because of the COVID-19 pandemic but was still unable to claim the government’s €500 supplement for workers since she receives a student’s stipend.

“We live in a society where students are encouraged to work, however, we believe that this contradicting measure is only penalising those who do,” Pulse said.

€80 a month, she said, is never going to be enough to cover the cost of rent and other essentials.

“I feel really disappointed, I was relying on this supplement to pay my rent, and if cancelling my stipend doesn’t work, I’m going to be in a mess,” she explained.

In a statement, Pulse explained:

“It is not easy being a full-time student and be employed on a part-time basis at the same time, however, students manage to do both as €90 a month for many students is simply not enough to get through the month.”

“We live in a society where students are encouraged to work, however, we believe that this contradicting measure is only penalising those who do.”

“Having said this, students should not be put in a position where they either choose to continue receiving the stipend or the Government supplement. It should not be a matter of either or, especially in a situation where many must work to be able to help their families.”

“While we understand that this is an unstable time for everyone and we acknowledge all the efforts which are being made to ease some of the pressures, we urge the Government and all the relative authorities to rethink this measure and to hold students at heart in these difficult times as well.”

A petition, unrelated to Pulse, has since been launched to address this oversight.