Govt defends changes to university grants as GSD says education policies must be ‘rational, not arbitrary’

The Gibraltar Government has defended its decision to change the eligibility criteria for university grants, adding it was aimed people who abuse of the system and not “genuine cases”.

The Government said genuine cases, particularly those with children born in Gibraltar, “have nothing to worry about”, and that it would announce details of the change shortly.

The message came just a day after Prior Park’s headteacher, Paul Martyn, received an email from the Department of Education detailing changes to scholarship eligibility criteria which, in effect, barred pupils in private schools from accessing grants.

The development caused deep concern for pupils and parents in Gibraltar’s private schools, including many poised to sit exams in May and planning to study in university as from September.

The conflicting messages from the Government – on the one hand, that changes come into effect as from September, on the other that the new criteria had yet to be finalised – left parents and pupils confused and fearing for the future.

On Tuesday, the GSD called for clarity from the Government and said that the move was made “without proper explanation” and that this was “unacceptable”, creating unnecessary stress for students.

The Opposition said the move represented a shift from cross-party consensus on education grants and questioned whether the Government had properly assessed the effect of the announcement on Government schools.

Education policies had to be “rational and not arbitrary” to be fair, it added.

The changes as set out by the Government to Prior Park mean that as from September this year, to qualify for the mandatory grant pupils must be currently attending Bayside, Westside or the Gibraltar College, or have previously attended a Government school for their A-level or Level 3 qualifications and taken no more than two gap years

The school was notified on Monday just hours before parents and pupils were set to attend a talk in Westside school on the Gibraltar Scholarship, with parents told that the meeting “was no longer relevant” and that they should instead attend a talk on the “discretionary scholarship route”.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Government said the GSD had politicised the matter in a “knee-jerk reaction”, and insisted that the policy change, which will be “published shortly”, is aimed at tackling abuse “fraudsters and freeloaders”.

It added that the Minister for Education has reached out to private school representatives to further explain the policy.

“The objective by tightening the award criteria is to catch out those who are not entitled to benefit from free scholarships,” the Government said in a statement.

“The point is that genuine cases, particularly those with children born in Gibraltar, have nothing to worry about.”

“It will be abundantly clear from the criteria, once this is published shortly, that the aim is to tackle fraudsters and freeloaders who are exploiting various routes to automatic qualification for scholarships and not to impact genuine cases with a long-standing connection to Gibraltar.”

It said the policy relates to other areas such as housing and health, as was announced by the Chief Minister in his New Year Message.

In his message in January, Mr Picardo said: “As we get larger, we must define clearly who is entitled to the many benefits that our nation provides to its citizens.”

“Housing, access to the services of our Health Authority and students ’scholarships are the flagship benefits that we enjoy in Gibraltar. It is time to ensure that our rules are clearly drawn to provide these benefits to our people and NOT to those who may move here simply to benefit from them.”

“In coming months we will, also, therefore be drawing more tightly the entitlement criteria for access to services going forward. I am sure that there will be widespread support for this throughout the community to ensure the sustainability of these benefits for our children.”

The Government also said the new criteria will assist in making the distinction between those entitled to a scholarship and those who are not.

“While the Government is generally aware of the background of pupils who attend state schools in Gibraltar, including period of residency and other such matters, it is not aware of the same in relation to those pupils who attend private schools here or outside of Gibraltar and who claim rights to automatically qualify for scholarships via links to Gibraltar,” the statement said.

“The taxpayer spent over £17 million in scholarships in the financial year 2023/2024 and it is important to make sure that only those who are entitled to access this funding are able to do so.”

The Government added that children in Gibraltar’s private schools account for approximately £2 million of cost over the lifetime of a three-year undergraduate degree.

The Chronicle has asked the Government as to the cost of scholarships for private school students in the financial year 2023/2024 but had not received a response as this edition went to press.

In the statement, the Government was firm in its position and reaction to political criticism.

“The knee-jerk reaction from the Opposition in relation to this matter will leave many wondering whether all they want is to sweep any fraudulent behaviour under the carpet,” it said.

GSD

The GSD had said on Tuesday that changes to the eligibility criteria for university grants are “unacceptable”, adding that the decision has created unnecessary stress for students.

In a statement, the Opposition said the policy change was made “without proper explanation” and called for clarity from the Government.

The GSD said the drip-feeding and “confusing messaging” of what is an important policy change had created “unnecessary stress” for students about to take their A-Level exams.

“And for it to then throw its own civil servants under a bus when all they were doing was delivering the policy message,” the GSD said in a statement.

“Taxpayer residents, parents and students are entitled to know what the rationale is behind the change that excludes resident students going to some Gibraltar schools.”

“The Government should be much clearer and not hide behind an anonymous spokesperson and it should reconsider.”

“The Government needs to clearly explain the rationale behind a late policy change that excludes Gibraltar resident children of Gibraltarian taxpayers from eligibility to mandatory scholarships purely because of the school they go to.”

“This decision would affect not just maintenance grants but tuition fees.”

The Opposition said that the move shifts away from a cross-party consensus regarding university grants which has been in place since 1988, and questioned the thought process behind the policy change.

“For a policy to be fair it needs to be rational and not arbitrary,” the statement added.

“If it’s seeking to somehow target ‘means’ of the parents then what guarantee is there that there aren’t parents with higher household incomes who are sending their children to Bayside or Westside?”

“Additionally, and as has unfortunately happened before with this Government, policy changes cannot be sprung on parents or children a couple of months before exams in a way that does not allow families to plan or without properly exploring the ramifications of an intended policy change.”

The Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi questioned whether the Government has planned as to the effect of the announcement on Government schools.

“For example, has Government considered the consequences?” he said.

“Is it ready to cater for more students if there is now a mass exodus of students to Government schools?”

“Will it cost more to have to provide more classrooms and employ more teachers than any saving represented by the funding of mandatory awards to a couple of dozen students?”

Mr Azopardi added that “these are legitimate questions”.

“Is this another knee-jerk ill-thought through policy of a GSLP Government with a growing track record of poorly thought policies?”

He described comments from “an unidentified Government spokesperson” suggesting a decision was not yet final as “a monument in vagueness”.

Pointing to the Scholarship Award Information Handbook 2025 which is published by the Government for students and parents, Mr Azopardi said it was clear that the entitlement to mandatory scholarships had been changed, with the handbook now reading scholarships are available to resident students who are “attending a HMGoG school or have attended such a school”.

Mr Azopardi referenced an earlier version of the handbook, which the GSD understands “was provided to parents and pupils when they were invited to a presentation on scholarships in January this year”, which said any student resident in Gibraltar and attending a school in Gibraltar or in the United Kingdom or have attended such a school were eligible for university funding.

TG REACTS

Together Gibraltar described the changes to scholarship eligibility as “reckless”, in what the group said is a worthwhile debate on the benefits of universal education grants versus means-testing during the “dire financial straits Gibraltar faces”.

In a statement, the group said that “without prior consultation” is quickly becoming the Government’s “unofficial slogan”.

“Last summer the Government blew any credibility they might have had regarding anti-pollution measures by failing to engage with the public before announcing a levy on old vehicles,” the statement said.

“Now it seems that they are going to take the same approach to an otherwise worthwhile debate on the benefits of universal education grants versus means-testing.”

“Presenting a stance in their manifesto would have been perfectly reasonable for a socialist labour party who already knew Gibraltar’s precarious financial state.”

“Instead, they have decided to ram through a brand new policy without considering the ramifications it would have on families, or even preparing for the inevitable backlash such poor planning has understandably created.”

“There is a debate to be had about the role of private education in Gibraltar. When the opening of Prior Park was first announced, many were worried that it risked fragmenting our community between rich and poor in a way Gibraltar had so far avoided.”

It accused the Government of communicating the changes with Prior Park as if the private education debate had already been settled.

The group have called on the Government to start a consultation process on the policy change.

“This is a pity for a policy which would save the public purse from spending on families who don’t need the support, and allow us to spend more on those who do.”