Financing - Malta

Early Intervention

Child care centres for children 0-3 years are generally run by independent private entrepreneurs. Parents who send their children to child day care centres will be given tax rebates on the fees they pay.

Pre-Primary – Kindergarten

State Kindergarten education is free of charge and accessible to all including pupils with disabilities. Besides this, parents having the care and custody of their children may be entitled to a Students’ Allowance if their reckonable annual income does not exceed a certain level. Funding is provided centrally by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. The funds are appropriated during the parliamentary debate on financial estimates towards the end of the year.

Compulsory School

State compulsory school education is free of charge, thus parents do not pay any fees. Pupils receive free textbooks, some writing materials and free milk, and a number of psycho-social and medical services. In secondary schools tuition and textbooks are free of charge. Transport is also provided free of charge. This also applies to pupils who have disabilities and who need further transport facilities to travel to school. Parents of pupils of this age may be entitled to the Children’s Allowance provided that they have the care and custody of their children and as long as the total reckonable income for the previous year of the claim does not exceed a certain level. Again, funding is provided centrally by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. The funds are appropriated during the parliamentary debate on financial estimates towards the end of the year.

Compulsory School for Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Provisions at Special Schools

Families who have a child with special needs receive an additional allowance from the government to cover additional expenses. Education is free for all pupils in all State and Church schools and this is funded centrally by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport. Educational support given to pupils attending these schools, including the allocation of a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) is also free of charge. During 2009, the government will be expanding this service to pupils with special needs in mainstream private independent schools. Prior to 2009, the parents of pupils attending independent schools and who required the support of an LSA because of their child’s special educational needs, benefited from income tax relief.

Job Orientation and Preparation at the End of Compulsory Education

There are no tuition fees for the end of compulsory education and post secondary education continues to be free of charge. Students do not receive any financial support but their parents may qualify for students’ allowance unless their income is higher than the established threshold.

Financial support is given to students attending upper secondary education and training courses. They receive a maintenance grant that is not refundable. They also receive an additional sum at the start of the school year for the purchase of books/ computer required for the course.

The University, the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology and the Institute of Tourism Studies receive funds from the Ministry’s budgets and these are managed by the respective institutions. Students at the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology receive a lump sum allowance at the beginning of the academic year in the form of a credit card together with a monthly maintenance grant allowance for the duration of their programme of studies.

The Link between School and the Labour Market for Adolescents with Special Educational Needs

The initiatives taken by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC) are financed by the government. Courses organised by the ETC are free of charge for the unemployed however sometimes a relatively small fee is charged for some courses.