Erasmus Temporaily Suspended
Erasmus has been temporarily suspended along with all other programs which are offered locally by EUPA. This so said temporary suspension was caused by mismanagement from EUPA with the European Commission taking a ‘precautionary measure’ to halt funding while the changes it proposed are actually implemented.
Along with Erasmus funds, other opportunities open for Students and Organisations have also been closed down since the suspension relates to the Youth in Action & Life Long Learning Programmes. Student Organisations also made use of these funds by taking part in exchanges as well as other projects in the aim of building relations with foreign organisations.
The Ministry of Education , being responsible for EUPA, issued a statement, saying that it is looking into this mismanagement and will try to resolve the issue as soon as possible. The time frame estimated to implement all the changes required by the European Commission is of roughly six months. Should the funds not open before these six months, hundreds of students hoping to go on Erasmus this year will see their dream reduced to tatters.
KSU, as well as other student organisations, have demanded that the solution be resolved as soon as possible, especially considering that the Erasmus programme had seen an increase in the number of participants, which at this point in time have no clue where they will be studying. In the light of the aim of having 20 per cent of graduating students having studied for a period on foreign land by 2020, this suspension of funds could very well be a setback from which the programme would have to recover .
Students have been at the forefront of the attempt to rectify this issue by setting up a Facebook group – Erasmus. Now! – to support the cause, as well as a Facebook petition – Petition: Youth in Action & Life Long Learning Programmes – to be sent to both EU and Maltese authorities to ask for alternative solutions while this administrative problem is resolved. In order to support the cause one can join the group and sign the petition by clicking on ‘attend’ on the petition page, which is classified as an event. The following student organisations have already signed the petition – Insite, Pulse, FZL, and ICTSA. More organisations are expected to follow suit.
We would also like to hear your comments, especially if you are one of the affected students.
