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SINGAPORE : The PAP Community Foundation (PCF) has set up a new financial aid scheme for post-secondary students from low-income families.
Over S$1.1 million is expected to be given out to at least 1,000 students.
This was announced at the Foundation's annual Family Day celebrations at the National Museum.
The National Museum was anything but quiet on Sunday.
There were activities for participants to test their agility and creativity.
One person said: "Usually they will have enrichment classes during the weekend. It is PCF Family Day, so we brought my niece and nephew here to do some drawings."
One young participant commented: "Yeah we are having fun. We did lots of things. I made a bag and I did a badge. And I got lots of prizes!"
Kids also got free passes to tour the museum's exhibits.
And when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong arrived for the event, many took turns to take a photograph with him.
The PCF has raised over S$1 million for a new scheme for post-secondary students called PCF Aid.
The scheme is open to Singaporeans studying at the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics or junior colleges. They have to be residing in a four-room HDB flat or smaller, and the per capita household income must not exceed S$450.
The scheme starts next year and recipients will get S$90 a month for a year.
When asked if that was considered enough, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong - who is also Chairman of the PCF Executive Committee - said: "We do what we can, it is a starting point.
"I think we want to use this money to help our students to cope with some of the costs involved in their studies, so that they will also be able to have access to some of the enrichment programmes they have always wanted to do."
The scheme will run for five years, after which PCF said it will be reviewed. Of the sum raised, PCF contributed S$400,000, while its partner SPH Foundation gave S$100,000. The remainder was raised from corporate donors.
Eligible students may also apply for the other PCF initiatives, such as its study award for polytechnic students, which was presented to recipients on Sunday. - CNA/ms
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