When a child leaves secondary school, the remaining money in the account will be transferred to a Post-Secondary Education Account which can be tapped on for further studies. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
THE Ministry of Education will spend $67.5 million this year for all students to get access to quality education during the worsening recession.
The money will go to topping up the the Edusave accounts all Singaporean students by $80, Edusave grants to schools by $20 per student and increasing the value of Edusave awards by between $30 and $150, said Education minister Ng Eng Hen during a visit to the Nanyang Division in Hong Kah GRC on Sunday.
Schools will also be given more money to help their students tide over the recession.
In February, MOE gave all schools a one-time $10,000 grant and those with more than 10 per cent of their students on the its financial assistance schemes were given an additional $10,000.
Dr Ng announced that schools which have used up half of these additional funding will get an extra $5000.
Funds in Edusave accounts can be spent on school-based enrichment programmes such as dance and speech and drama.
When a child leaves secondary school, the remaining money in the account will be transferred to a Post-Secondary Education Account which can be tapped on for further studies.
Edusave Grants are annual grants given to schools to organise enrichment programmes and pay for equipment such as computers to enhance the quality of teahing. Edusave awards are given to students who excel in academic and non-academic areas.
Dr Ng said: 'My concern is if during this downturn, if indeed parents lose their jobs or earn less, we feel they may pull out of the enrichment programme, and we want to maintain this quality education that our children have... When times are lean, I'm putting more fat into the system so that they won't lose out on the opportunities.'
