The Ministry of Finance gave the promise that the student sponsorship will be increased, perhaps even in 2026 with legislative regulation, during a discussion at the Parliamentary Committee on Education, which examined the procedures and criteria for providing sponsorships and allowances to students, following a recommendation by AKEL.
The proposal was submitted by AKEL MPs, Christos Christofidis, Andreas Kavkalias and Christos Christofias.
As Mr. Christofidis stated, "for 27 years the amount of student sponsorship has been the same, which means that our students with the money they spend can do half the things their fellow students did when student sponsorship started in 1998".
He added that "we live in a time when rents are flying, punctuality is reaping but support for students remains stuck".
The AKEL Member of Parliament said that "it is not enough for the Presidential Office to tell us that the middle classes also need financial support and to refer to the charities of the Needy Students Support Agency, but on the other hand, to further reduce the fund for student sponsorship".
He also referred to the fact that "support for students has been reduced in recent years by 2.8 million, while a large percentage of the funds intended for student allowances are not allocated and this happens every year".
Mr. Christofidis said that "our students need support and instead, only in the last four years with an overall inflation of around 15%, the student sponsorship has lost a significant part of its purchasing value".
He added that as AKEL "we have been shouting about this issue for many years, we are putting amendments in the state budget to oblige them to allocate the fund that is not available for our students and in this context we registered the issue with the Parliamentary Committee on Education with the aim of culminating this pressure that we and the organized student movement have been exerting on the rulers for years".
The AKEL Member of Parliament stated that "today we heard specific promises since the Ministry of Finance said that the student sponsorship will be increased and how much and how they are being studied, while they also announced a review of the income criteria and an update is expected on how this will be done, it is very likely that this review will take effect from 2026".
He noted that "on the one hand, we express our satisfaction because a struggle we have been fighting for many years seems to be bringing results, on the other hand, I make it clear that we will constantly monitor developments and continue to push so that the promises become a reality."
DISY Member of Parliament, Prodromos Alabritis, said that "after many statements and many appeals for strengthening student sponsorship, we are pleased to hear today that there is an intention from the Ministry of Finance to expand the income criteria and the amount of student sponsorship".
He added that "the amount of the student grant has been the same since it was introduced while the income criteria have been the same since 2003 with inflation running rampant and at least 22% at the same time as the purchase value of the then thousand pounds has been significantly degraded".
"We expect in the next period that the announcements will be implemented and we will have specific legislation" said the DISY Member of Parliament who indicated that "a relevant bill is already being prepared as we have been informed about the abolition of the income criteria for families with five or more children".
Mr. Alabritis said that he also raised a series of issues that must be taken into account such as the existence of a mortgage and the exemption of the 1st residence from the property criteria and that a special provision should apply for families with two children who are studying at the same time. "All this is a priority for DISY", he said.
The Member of Parliament of DIKO, Chrysanthos Savvidis expressed his satisfaction for the fact that a permanent request of our faction has been satisfied since the government under Nikos Christodoulidis has listened to our concerns about student sponsorship and as has been said today a new bill is being prepared with new criteria regarding student sponsorship which will be higher than in the past.
He added that, as intended, "for families with five children there will be neither income nor property criteria so that they can enjoy the student sponsorship".
As the DIKO Member of Parliament said, "at a time when the cost of living and studying are skyrocketing, such moves are in the right direction and we welcome it and are ready to enrich the bill if and when necessary".
For his part, the Member of Parliament of DIPA, Alekos Tryfonidis, stated that "in a period when the cost of living and student accommodation have skyrocketed, the state must support our young people and their families effectively because investment in education is an investment in the future of our country".
He added that "we were informed today that a bill is being prepared by the government that will bring changes to the issues of student grants, and especially for families with five children, the family's financial situation will not be taken into account."
Mr. Tryfonidis said that "when we have the bill in front of us, hopefully soon, we will study it, because the expansion of student sponsorship also contributes to the reduction of the demographic problem facing our country".
He stated that we requested and it was accepted that "the process of applying for the sponsorship be simplified along with the criteria process to make a more fair and meritorious distribution of the student sponsorship and other related allowances".
Mr. Tryfonidis assured that as DIPA "we will continue to work consistently for practical solutions that will promote social justice and the support of the middle class and lower strata of young people and workers".
