Pulse calls for the setting up of the University Trust Fund

In its statement, the student body was referring to the Governor of the Central Bank Michael Bonello's comments who has called for  cutting down stipend support for University students, "limiting it only to those who truly need it."

“The existing stipend mechanism is a form of financial assistance to students who choose to pursue a particular profession within the local and European labour market,” a spokesperson for Pulse said. “[We] believe that stipends are an investment in our students and society and should not be sacrificed for cost-cutting purposes.”

“It is high time that a special task force is set up to address important issues which so far have only been tackled by random warning and threats to reduce stipends,” Pulse said. “The relevant authorities should finalise the setting up of the University Trust Fund as soon as possible.”

The student body has also proposed that Government should provide incentives for companies to invest in this trust fund.

Repeating what the organisation had said on the Budget proposals for 2011, Pulse said it fully supports the concept of maximum efficiency in the allocation of resources in the public sector.

“Despite the country’s dire need of performing a series of responsible reforms to address the challenges in the area of public expenditure, the state should not ignore the social impact certain measures could have.”

Pulse said cutting on stipends is an example of the negative repercussions such measures could have.

The student organisation had already expressed same concerns when similar proposals had been suggested by the Governor in 2009.