Ministry of Education revises student aid fund regulations, easing wealth exclusion criteria and increasing subsidies for disadvantaged students

(Central News Agency, Taipei, July 9) To better align the student aid fund with actual needs, the Ministry of Education has amended regulations to relax the wealth exclusion criteria for emergency relief funds. The total annual household income threshold for applications has been adjusted from NT$1 million to NT$1.48 million, with increased subsidies for low-income and middle-low-income disadvantaged families.

The Ministry of Education stated in a press release today that the Ministry of Education's student aid fund has always upheld the spirit of donating land for education by our predecessors, creating a diverse and stable support system for students in need. The Ministry of Education has been providing emergency relief subsidies since 1995 to help students study with peace of mind. This has been ongoing for over 30 years, with more than 30,000 person-times subsidized in the past five years, totaling NT$550 million in subsidies.

In response to the continuous rise in prices in recent years, and to provide more timely support to students' families facing financial difficulties due to emergencies, to help them overcome challenges, this amendment has three major highlights: easing wealth exclusion standards, increasing subsidies for low-income families, and extending the application period.

The Ministry of Education explained that to prioritize resources for families with greater financial support needs, a subsidy threshold based on total household income has been established. However, due to factors such as rising prices and inflation in recent years, the original threshold is no longer appropriate. Therefore, this amendment first relaxes the total household income application threshold from NT$1 million to NT$1.48 million, hoping to support more families and better align with social fairness and justice.

To mitigate the impact of rising prices and inflation on low-income families, the Ministry of Education mentioned that this amendment provides increased subsidies for low-income and middle-low-income families. After the amendment, they can receive subsidies of up to NT$30,000. Additionally, considering that students or parents may encounter major unforeseen events and be unable to apply in time due to family matters or medical care, or that some supporting documents take longer to obtain, the application period has been extended from 3 months to 6 months to provide flexibility for students' families. (Editor: Long Baian) 1150709

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