The Calabria Region establishes the merit income, a monthly contribution of 1,000 euros intended for Calabrian university students who choose to attend universities in their region. The measure will come into force starting from the next academic year and will be made operational through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Region and the rectors of Calabrian universities, scheduled for Wednesday 15 April.
What it’s about
The measure was announced by the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, deputy secretary of Forza Italia, who convened the Council while he was in Rome, busy with national dossiers concerning the region.
The idea had already been anticipated during the electoral campaign and was initially intended only for freshmen. The final decision, however, was to extend the benefit to all Calabrian university students enrolled in regional universities, regardless of their year of study. Occhiuto explains:
It is a concrete investment in Calabria’s human capital, because the future of the Region also depends on the ability that we will have in the coming decades to retain and enhance our best talents.
How it works
The merit income is aimed at students resident in Calabria who attend one of the universities in the region and who meet specific academic requirements:
- for students already enrolled in previous academic years, the condition is to maintain a high average and be in compliance with their studies;
- for freshmen, the assignment is determined by the results achieved in the entrance test or in a public ranking.
The monthly contribution of 1,000 euros can be used freely. There are no destination constraints: students will have full autonomy in managing their expenses, such as rent, books, transport and daily needs. The measure comes alongside the already existing scholarships: the 1,000 euros can also be received by those who benefit from other financial support.
Calabria is not the first southern region to attempt this path. In 2020, the then Sicilian governor Nello Musumeci – now minister for Civil Protection – announced a contribution of 1,200 euros for each away student who, the following year, chose to return and enroll in a Sicilian university.
Calabria and brain drain
The provision was born in response to a structural problem in the South which weighs like a stone on the development of the southern regions. According to the Censis-Confcooperative report, every year around 134,000 students leave the South to enroll in universities in the Centre-North, causing a loss estimated at over 4 billion euros per year for the southern territories. Just to train a graduate, the South invests on average 112,000 euros between public and family resources.
Calabria is no exception. According to the latest Anvur report, almost one in two master’s students studies far from their region of origin. The phenomenon is further amplified by the rapid growth of online universities in the South: in the same period, enrollments in online universities in the South increased by 158.6% in six years, also driven by those who cannot afford the costs of living away from home.
