Greens question why government prioritises fuel subsidies over university funding

ADPD – The Green Party questioned the government's priorities when slashing the University of Malta's budget, whilst heavily subsidising fuels.

In reaction to the news that the university’s budget for this year was being reduced by €1.1 million, the Greens said that this was a “sheer example” of the Government’s misguided priorities.

Despite the skyrocketing fuel prices following the war in Ukraine, the government remains committed to softening the blow of high energy and fuel prices, by subsidising the difference.

"Reining in public financing should target the reduction of the heavily subsidised petrol and diesel and not jeopardizing the country’s future," said ADPD Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo

“The University and education, in general, should be injected with additional financial resources in order to be more effective in the holistic development of our students.”

He called “fake” the PL’s pre-election pledge to increase the budget allocation for research and development to 2% of the GDP.

Cacopardo said that Malta was repeatedly classified in the lower ranking for investment in research and development within Europe and emphasised that this may discourage students to pursue their studies at a tertiary level.

“The best investment we can make is in the education of future generations. However, the Government has not prioritised tomorrow,” concluded Cacopardo.

The Nationalist Party slammed the government over the matter, calling the cuts unacceptable, irresponsible, and unjust.