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All beneficiaries of international protection are covered under compulsory and free of charge state education up to the age of 16. After secondary school, and after obtaining the relevant and necessary Ordinary Level examination passes, students may enrol for post-secondary education: two years of study in preparation for Advanced Level Examinations. All beneficiaries of protection may also apply to enrol at the University of Malta.
Refugees who are enrolled at higher education institutions (minimum Bachelor level), are entitled to apply for the Malta Government Undergraduate Scheme. The Scheme provides eligible persons with a one-time grant, a yearly grant and ten fixed-rate four-weekly stipends.[1] The entitlements to stipends or other forms of support (e.g. exemption from fees) for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection remain unclear, although the relevant Regulations stipulate that any third-country national may apply with the Ministry to be exempted from fees and to be granted a student stipend.[2]
The Migrant Learners Unit[3] within the Ministry for Education oversees promoting the inclusion of newly arrived learners into the education system and runs several projects which aim to provide migrant learners in school with further support in basic and functional language learning over and above the teaching provided by the class teacher. Students are given induction lessons in English and Maltese to prepare them to access public education.
In 2018, Malta introduced the ‘I Belong’ Programme which is also available to beneficiaries of international protection. The initiative consists of English and Maltese language courses and basic cultural and societal orientation as part of the integration process. The programme is run by the Human Rights Directorate, within the Home Affairs Ministry.
JobsPlus, the national employment agency, offers several free courses covering a vast range of subjects, including: Maltese, English, job-searching techniques, digital marketing, tile-laying, health and safety, air-conditioning, etc.[4]
In a recent report, NGOs reported that entitlement to tertiary education is not specified in existing law or publicly available policy for any of the asylum-seeking groups. In practice however, all may apply to follow a course at the University of Malta or MCAST and for all groups, students may apply for a fee waiver. Students at tertiary level may also apply for a student maintenance grant, but this is only granted to individuals with international protection who have been residing in Malta for 5 years or more. Moreover, should the individual with international protection be receiving Social Assistance, this cannot be supplemented with the maintenance grant. Finally, there is once again no specified entitlement for migrants to life-long learning courses in existing law and policy. However, in practice, all migrant groups, regardless of protection status, may apply to follow such courses, as well as for an exemption from payment.[5]
In 2020, 3,456 people applied for the ‘I Belong Programme’, among them, 364 were beneficiaries of international protection and 191 were asylum-seekers.[6] In 2021, 1,909 individuals followed the course, including 102 asylum-seeker, 95 failed asylum-seeker, 85 beneficiaries of temporary humanitarian Protection, 75 beneficiaries of subsidiary protection and 51 refugees.[7]
The Human Rights Directorate confirmed that, for 2023, the following numbers of international protection beneficiaries participated in the programme:
- Foundation courses: 50
- Stage 1: 257
- Stage 2: 20
[1] Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, Malta Government Undergraduate Scheme, 2022-2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3WWLu0f.
[2] Student Maintenance Grants Regulations, S.L. 605.06, 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3R26kYb.
[3] Info on Migrant Learners’ Unit available here: https://bit.ly/3L8bwr7
[4] Full list available at: https://tinyurl.com/5n8zvmur.
[5] JRS and aditus foundation, In Pursuit of Livelihood: An in-depth investigation of asylum-seekers’ battle against poverty and social exclusion in Malta, December 2021, available at https://bit.ly/3kPti80
[6] Information provided by the Human Rights Directorate, January 2021.
[7] Information provided by the Human Rights Directorate, March 2022.