Higher school-based financial aid, transport subsidy for needy students
Needy families are set to receive greater support as the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Financial Assistance Scheme, which covers needy students up to pre-university level, will be enhanced to include a new transport subsidy, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday.
The subsidy will cover public transport for all needy students as well as school buses for primary school students, he said in his Budget speech. Those under the scheme currently enjoy benefits such as free textbooks and uniforms, as well as waived school fees and standard miscellaneous fees.
Mr Rosli Rashid, 47, who like his wife is unemployed due to medical reasons, said the transport subsidy will be a great relief for his family as he currently spends almost S$200 a week on public transport for his seven school-going children aged 11 to 20.
Schools will also receive increased annual grants for school-based financial assistance over the next three years. This will give each school advisory and management committee more resources to provide further targeted assistance to needy students, said Mr Tharman.
These initiatives will be extended to special education schools, adjusted to meet their specific needs, he added, with more details to be revealed later.
Mr Tharman also noted that self-help groups have been “doing good work” to help children from needy families progress.
“To enable them to do more, I will provide an additional S$6 million grant to the self-help groups over the next two years to support them as they expand their programmes and outreach,” he said. Laura Philomin
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Other documents on Budget 2015 available on the Budget 2015 website.
