Our View: Student grants fuel a culture of entitlement

There was not a single voice of dissent on Wednesday, when the deputies at the House education committee discussed the supposed need for higher grants for university students. When it comes to spending the taxpayer’s money on handouts for a sizeable group of voters, there is unanimity. The only possible disagreement is over which party will be the most generous, a contest that is usually won by the big spenders of Akel. In the latest exhibition of this largesse, all the parties at the education committee agreed that students were entitled to higher state grants, with Akel proposing the total amount for these should increase to €70 million, so it could be at the 2013 level, which the ultra-generous Christofias government took it to. Akel’s proposal wanted the existing grants to be adjusted in accordance with the cost-of-living index and suggested the creation of a special allowance for the purchase of books and ‘equipment’. Student organisation Pofen, wanted the family income criteria for eligibility to be increased from €64,000 to €70,000 for families of up to two children. It is preposterous that the offspring of a family on an annual income up to €64,000 would be entitled to a grant of €2,000 a year which deputies consider too low! These grants are for students at public universities who pay no tuition fees. When we consider the state is offering them a top-quality university education for free, why are students also paid annual grants? It makes no sense when everyone recognizes we have more university graduates than the economy needs. Chairman of the education committee, Chrysanthos Savvides, claimed the total cost of studying at university was about €60,000 over four years and the state was not providing adequate assistance. He did not explain by what reasoning the taxpayer was obliged to provide students with support for their accommodation and living expenses. In the rest of the world, university students live in poor areas where the rents are cheap even if these are not close to the university; and if they are short of money they can take a part-time job. The taxpayer has no obligation to provide students that are receiving a university education free of charge with financial assistance. The only thing this achieves is to further boost the sense of entitlement of Cypriot youth, who are encouraged to think that the state has a responsibility to make their life as easy as possible. The lives of our car-owning Cypriots students are easy enough and they do not need the support of the taxpayer. Cutting the grants altogether, would teach our youth a valuable lesson for the rest of their life – not to rely on state handouts as they have been taught to do by the populist politicians.