An audit office investigation into student grants awarded in 2023 uncovered multiple irregularities, including grants being awarded for longer than permitted, amounts being “gifted” without legal basis, and applications being accepted after the official deadline.

Audit office spokeswoman Yiota Michail said the in-depth probe followed a complaint that procedures were not being followed in accordance with regulations.

“The complaint came from someone familiar with the procedures — not someone who had been treated unfairly,” Michail clarified, speaking on CyBC’s Trito programme.

“For this reason, we conducted a more thorough investigation to determine whether or not these practices were actually taking place.”

According to Michail, the audit revealed over a dozen cases in which grants were awarded for four consecutive years, despite the recipients being enrolled in three-year courses.

In another case, a sum of €6,215 was granted for a distance learning programme, which is not eligible for support under existing legislation.

Michail said the finance ministry had become aware of this and the permanent secretary had decided that the amount would be ‘gifted’ to the applicant due to adverse economic conditions.

However, she noted, “The law clearly states that any funds granted in error must be returned.”

She further explained that the authority to forgive or write off such an amount does not rest with the permanent secretary, but with another department.

“We also identified applications that had been accepted even though they had been submitted late. An extension had been granted for the submission of applications. The legislation does not give the authority to either the cabinet or the permanent secretary of the finance ministry to approve an extension,” Michail said.

“Despite this, 36 applications were still accepted after the extended deadline expired,” she said.

“Non-transparent procedures had been followed and this contravenes the principle of equality for all,” Michail pointed out.

The audit office was informed that future problems would be mitigated through the adoption of an online application system.

Michail also commented on the student grant budget. In 2023, the total budget was €50.8 million, of which €8.7 million remained unspent — something she said occurs every year.

For 2025, the budget has been reduced to €48 million, with new criteria and grant structures to be introduced under proposed amendments to the existing legislation.