Adult education and training funding
Funding
In Malta, continuing education and training of young school leavers and adults is provided by the Directorate for Lifelong Learning and Early School Leavers (DLLL&ESL) within the Ministry for Education and Employment as well as by a significant number of licensed private institutions. All institutions offer a large variety of courses including academic and non-academic subjects at different levels. Learners have the opportunity of progressing from one level to another. The DLLL&ESL is funded by the Government but private institutions do not receive government financial support. A significant number of local private institutions also represent foreign universities or other educational organisations and run courses at certificate, diploma, degree, Master and Doctoral level.
Fees Paid by Learners
Fees paid by the learners are set by the institutions offering the courses and they vary according to the type and level of course chosen.
Financial Support for Adult Learners
Participants in lifelong learning programmes who are unemployed or who cannot meet the expenses of such courses are entitled to financial support. This level of support, which is mainly provided by the government, depends on the scheme under which the training is provided. One such scheme, managed and implemented by the Employment and Training Corporation (ETC), targets persons on the minimum wage and who are undergoing training and/or attending adult courses. These persons are entitled to receive EUR 25 every week for the duration of the course/training. Classes, especially literacy and numeracy classes, may also be provided for free by a number of social non-governmental organisations.
The DLLL&ESL offers all numeracy and literacy courses free of charge and adult learners on social benefits are exempted from paying fees for any course they choose. Senior adult learners (60+ for females and 61+ for males) are also entitled to one free course of their own choice.
The Government of Malta also offers a number of scholarship schemes, namely:
- The Malta Government Scholarship Scheme (MGSS) which funded totally through national funds and which is targeting studies at post-graduate level;
- A number of EU co-funded scholarship schemes, also at post-graduate level;
- The Malta Arts Scholarships scheme and the Malta Sports Scholarships scheme which aim to support individuals who have high artistic and sporting talents respectively;
- The Commonwealth Scholarships scheme which is funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
Private Education
A number of private educational institutions provide adult education and training programmes, which programmes are covered by tuition fees. A number of business organisations offer a range of apprenticeship programmes during which apprentices are entitled to a stipend and bonus allowances as stipulated by the employer in close collaboration with the ETC. It is also common for ETC to partially fund such programmes in order to encourage businesses and adult learners alike to partake in such working/learning schemes.