LOCAL engineering giant Sembcorp Marine has upped the funds it sets aside to help needy schoolchildren cope with the economic slowdown when they return to school in January.

Some $300,000 will go to 1,492 students from 107 schools when the new school year begins, an increase of $50,000.

Depending on their age, each eligible student gets a cheque of $150 to $400 to buy school supplies such as textbooks, uniforms and stationery.

Since it was launched in 2001, the programme, called School Book Assistance Grant, has given out more than $1.56 million to 7,565 students.

The beneficiaries are those studying in schools around Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary shipyards in Jurong and Sembawang.