Italy's universities 'hemorrhaging' students says minister

(ANSA) - Rome, December 3 - Italy's universities are seeing a progressive decline in student numbers, Education Minister Stefania Giannini said Thursday, urging authorities to seek a solution to the growing problem.
    "The system is hemorrhaging," Giannini said at an inauguration ceremony for Roma Tre University's academic year. "Enrollment has dropped by 70,000 students in five years, which is a worry," she said.
    "It's a sign of difficult conditions, a growth in social unease, but also of a lack or decline in confidence in the value of higher education". She reaffirmed the need for student bursaries to be managed by universities, rather than by regional authorities, noting cases when funds were delayed or lost.
    "This is my position, which we will have to discuss in the government," she said.