Tunisia-School and university return: Financial aid for the benefit of needy pupils and students

Director-General of Social Promotion at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Sami Belghith stated that on the opening of the new school and university year, financial aid will be granted to all pupils and students from poor and low-income families regardless of their number within a single-family to help them meet the essential expenses of the new school year.
In a statement to TAP, Belghith said that the Ministry of Social Affairs has decided, for the first time, that a sum of 50 dinars will be granted to each student or learner enrolled in the vocational training cycle and that assistance from 120 dinars will be awarded to each student.

Previously, he said, this aid only benefited three pupils and two students per poor family.

He added that this aid, which aims to fight against dropping out of school, will be paid a week before the start of the new school and university year 2020-2021.

According to Belghith, the promotion units will continue to accept applications from needy and low-income families until the end of September 2020.

He added that the number of students and learners enrolled in vocational training centres who are entitled to these aids is estimated at 290 thousand beneficiaries against 247 thousand last year, while the number of students is expected to reach 30. thousand against 22 thousand last year.

An envelope of 32 million dinars has been mobilized for the granting of this aid, including 15 million dinars allocated by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The rest of the amount will be released as part of international cooperation with UNICEF and the German Development Bank, according to Sami Belghith.

This aid is part of the “Amen social” program which aims to promote underprivileged social categories who benefit from permanent allowances as well as low-income families with reduced-rate healthcare cards or affiliated with social security. but whose wages do not exceed twice the guaranteed minimum wage.