Stipend should be EQUAL to ALL Students at the University of Malta. At the moment, medical and other science students get to have a higher amount of stipend than students reading for a degree in Law, Bsc in HomeEconomics, B.Ed, and many others. As one may assume expenses are quite high for University students when it comes to the cost of text books and other related materials.
Although I can understand your point of view, the reason why Institute of Health Sciences' students have a higher stipend is for 2 reasons: 1- as an incentive to attract more students into studying such subjects 2- these students work in clinical areas throughout the year, including the summer months. They are obliged to fulfill a number of hours in allocated areas as part of their curriculum along with attending lectures and theoretical work&exams
Stipends should reflect the costs of equipment and reading material required for the course being taken. Doctors for example need to invest in a lot of very expensive books, access to paid online journals etc, far more than some other courses. I also think that the stipend SHOULD NOT BE CASH, rather revert to the card to be used for only certain items or stores providing only educational equipment or resources.
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