By Yen Feng

WITH the new school year just round the corner, some Singaporeans are turning to religious and ethnic groups for help in paying bills due to hardship brought on by the current economic downturn.

In the last two months, applications for bursaries offered by such groups - from the Singapore Buddhist Lodge to the Singapore Indian Development Association (Sinda) - have gone up by at least 20 per cent, say their leaders.

Many, in response, are expanding their bursary budgets. New funds have been set up to pay for textbooks, transport fees and other miscellaneous costs for school.

Singapore Buddhist Lodge chairman Lee Bock Guan has increased this year's education bursary budget from $1 million to $1.2 million, a move he describes as 'necessary'.

'What use is money if it's sitting in a bank?' he said. Students can apply for the bursary through their schools.

City Harvest Church, with more than 24,000 members in Singapore, is offering to pay for its members' school fees as well as textbooks and, for some, computers.

Successful applicants will have to fulfil four hours of community work a month, as well as attend church services.

Other smaller outfits are doing their bit too. The Cornerstone Community Church, through its community services arm, will give out between 250 and 300 new educational grants, each worth $150 to $500 this year, after an 'overwhelming' response, said its director Lew Mi Yih.

It had originally budgeted for 60.

The grants will cover student expenses such as pocket money, and school and exam fees for those whose monthly household income is less than $500 (per family member).

Hindu temples, too, are putting more cash into their devotees' hands. At the Sri Ruthra Kaliamman temple on Depot Road, its secretary V. Thevendran said he will expand this year's budget for school textbooks and transport, based on expectations that demand will rise 25 per cent.

'I fully expect more people are going to ask for help,' he said.

The temple last year received 120 applications for its $32,000 bursary fund.

Ethnic organisations are also reaching out, with some even changing the rules of the game to help their members.

Together with the Singapore Indian Education Trust and the Tamils Representative Council, Sinda last month increased its total bursaries to $700,000 this year, up by about 25 per cent.

The Singapore Hokkien Association also increased its bursaries for primary and secondary children.

This year, it will give out $97,400 in bursaries, 40 per cent up from $70,500 last year.

At the Eurasian Association, chairman of its education committee Geoffrey da Silva has put aside $50,000 for five new scholarships for needy students. There are plans to increase the number of awards to 10 or 15 by the year's end.

'Due to changes in the economic climate, we will be exploring increasing the quantum of the education budget,' he said, without giving specific numbers.

And earlier last year, Mendaki, a Malay self-help group, announced that it would modify the criteria for students applying to its Education Trust Fund.

The fund now accepts applications from upper secondary students. Last month, it awarded 338 Secondary 3 to 5 students $200 each.

The group also did away with its limit of three bursary applications for each family.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jan 1, 2009.