Income level criteria for CDAC programmes to be revised upwards in January 2020
SINGAPORE — More households stand to benefit from the Chinese Development Assistance Council’s (CDAC) programmes and assistance schemes, after it announced that it will revise upwards its income eligibility criteria with effect from January 2020.
For the programmes aimed at helping more needy families – such as tuition fee waiver, bursary and financial assistance – the monthly household income (MHI) threshold will be raised from $1,900 to $2,400, the CDAC said in a media release on Thursday (20 June).
Similarly, the per capita income (PCI) criteria of these families will also be raised from $650 to $800.
There will be similar revisions of MHI and PCI thresholds for its programmes for low-income and lower-middle income families, as well as for its Workfare programme.
The revision is as follows:
Last revision was in 2014
CDAC said that the last revision on the income eligibility criteria was made in July 2014. Given that the MHI and PCI of the lower-income households had increased over the years, it said that it is timely to revise the criteria for its programmes.
About 3,000 households will stand to benefit from the revision, of which 1,500 are existing beneficiaries who may receive higher support, according to the council. CDAC estimates that its annual programme budget will also increase by $1.5 million with the revision.
CDAC will also be extending other forms of assistance to families that require sustained help, especially those with school-going children. Its case workers will have more discretion in exercising judgment to provide the families with the best help.
For example, families with school-going children who face long-term financial and job challenges could be given a one-off home improvement support to provide a more conducive living and learning environment for their children.
The children could also be granted bursary and tuition fee waiver continuously for two to three years while their parents secure better jobs.
‘Planting Grass, Growing Trees’ approach
“We will improve our programmes to draw in more participation. At the same time, we are identifying the more disadvantaged families to provide them with holistic and deepened support,” Minister of Education Ong Ye Kung said during the council’s annual general meeting on Thursday.
“The objective is to ensure social mobility within the Chinese community, and recognising that education for children and stable jobs for parents, are the best ways to bring this about,” added Ong, who is also the chairman of CDAC’s board of directors.
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