Rome, Sep 27 (LaPresse) – "I think one of the biggest worries a parent can have in Calabria, if they earn 1300, 1700, or 2000 euros a month and have a 17 or 18-year-old child, is that their child comes to them one morning and says: ‘Mom, Dad, I’d like to go to university in Milan or Rome.’ How do you send your child to university elsewhere? That’s 2000 euros a month. Many of these families get into debt, take out loans, use up all their savings to enroll their child in university outside the region, and then lose them—Calabria loses them. Because AlmaLaurea says that 90% of young people from Calabria who enroll outside the region then decide to stay outside Calabria, while 60% who enroll in Calabrian universities remain to work in Calabria. So, here’s what I want to do, here’s what we will do from October 7: the merit income. Let me explain what it is. I want to give 500 euros a month, as an incentive, to Calabrian high school graduates who decide to enroll in Calabrian universities and maintain an average grade of 27. Calabria needs merit, and young Calabrians need it above all." This was stated by the President of Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, in a video posted on social media.