CUSP Statement On Gibraltar Scholarship Awards 2021/22
CUSP has issued a statement calling on Government to make the criteria for Gibraltar Scholarship awards public.
A statement from CUSP follows below:
CUSP is pleased that the process is now live and that it is clearly laid out.
We are encouraged that there are funds available for Gibraltar students who are starting and continuing further education.
We understand that the recent pandemic has adversely affected Government finances and sympathise with the restrictions imposed the funding of postgraduate studies. We appreciate the Government’s concern to spend money on education that is useful for Gibraltar or where courses have started at an undergraduate level.
We would like the Government to make commitments on two aspects of the process.
Firstly that the award of discretionary awards will be transparent and consistent. We would like to see the criteria for these awards made public, and we would also like to see details of the number of awards made as well as the amounts compared to the total monies available.
It is important that the scholarships continue to support social mobility and reduce educational inequality. We are concerned that inequality has increased during the pandemic given the difficulties in maintaining teaching.
Secondly, we would like the Government to commit to reverting to the previous process as soon as public finances permit. In our view, education spending should remain the number one priority for Gibraltar and so as finance becomes available this should be the part of the government budget that is increased before other areas.
Education is an investment in our future - for Gibraltar to continue to grow we need people here who are educated and have different experiences. It is investing in future generations for the benefit of all of us.
