Students protest about welfare expenditure

University students under the guidance of the Federation of Student Unions (Pofen) staged a protest on Tuesday outside the finance ministry over next year’s state budget for student welfare, which they said, will be slashed by almost €8m.

Among their requests is for the €7m from this year’s budget for student welfare that has not been yet distributed to be transferred to the student package so that more students can benefit.

The student package is aid given to needy students in the form of rent subsidies, food stamps, or aid to buy textbooks and laptops.

Pofen also demands the review of the income and asset criteria for student grants and the student package and for all students who are eligible for the student grant to be entitled to free healthcare.

Akel’s Stefanos Stefanou and Christos Christofides who met with a delegation of Pofen members, expressed their support for the students and reassured them that they would submit a proposal at the House education committee for an increase of the budget on student welfare and a review of the criteria so that it is not linked with the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI).

The two Akelites also criticised the government for not abiding by a recent legislation amendment which obliges the executive to use the entire budget provided for the student grant.

Members of the high school student body Psem also took part in the protest saying they support the struggles of Pofen against “attacks against their rights”.

As future higher education students, Psem said, “we understand very well what a student grant means to our families”.

The student grant was among the first benefits to be slashed due to austerity measures three years ago. Last year legislation was passed which caps eligibility for a student grant based on family income.

While in the past the state would give €2,550 to each student, with an additional €850 if the student came from a large family, restrictions were put in place so students coming from wealthy families wouldn’t receive the grant.

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