Bursaries for 520 students

About 520 students from low-income families received more than $115,000 worth of bursaries at a presentation ceremony yesterday.

They were awarded between $150 and $500 each at the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Citizens' Consultative Committee event in Toa Payoh Central, reported The Straits Times website.

At the event, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who heads the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said the GRC will continue to support students whose families face financial difficulties.

"We believe so strongly in education... Good education will last your children a lifetime," he said to the audience of students and parents.

He added that close to $1 million has been disbursed to students over the last five years.

Dr Ng said that many MPs grew up poor and he shared his own experience growing up in a rental flat with three other families.

FOCUS ON EDUCATION

"My mother worked very hard. She raised six children... but because of what my parents did - focusing on education - my life changed... my children's lives changed," Dr Ng said.

Nanyang Polytechnic student Chan Jia Xin, 21, who was awarded a $400 bursary, told The Straits Times that the money would be used to pay her school fees. Her mother works at a food kiosk while her father is a driver.

"It helps my parents worry less. It's very hard to pay $1,248 every semester," she said.

This article was first published on Jan 19, 2015.
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