By Amelia Tan & Theresa Tan

TAFERIN Chua, 16, would have problems going to school if not for the financial aid she receives.
Her divorcee mother earns about $500 a month as a part-time puppeteer, an amount that can barely support Taferin and her 19-year-old brother.

Since she was in Primary 3, the St Hilda's Secondary School student has been on the Ministry of Education (MOE) financial assistance scheme, which helps children from low-income families.

It pays for Taferin's school fees and she gets free textbooks, among other things.

The MOE is seeing more students like Taferin whose families are struggling to make ends meet. Last year, 44,900 students were on the scheme, a rise from about 42,300 in 2007.

Yesterday, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said his ministry will pump in more money to help poor students.

Its budget for various financial aid programmes for students will more than double to $44.4 million this year, with $18 million going to its financial assistance scheme.

Singaporean families with at least three children and earning $1,800 or less a month qualify for the scheme. Those with one or two children and earn $1,500 or less a month are also eligible.

Students get their school fees waived and free textbooks, among other things. This year, primary and secondary school recipients will get free uniforms too.

Principals interviewed attribute the rise in the number of applicants to more people being laid off last year.

Some also say that many of the new applicants are from families on the 'border line', with monthly incomes of about $2,000.

Many can now apply for help because one or both parents have been retrenched.

With the deepening recession, principals said MOE's enhancements to its financial assistance schemes will go a long way in easing the burden of students and their families.

Riverside Secondary principal Sng Siew Hong said: 'Parents won't have to worry if they cannot pay for things. I would like to tell parents to come forth and let us know if they need help.'

Some principals, like Yio Chu Kang Secondary's Mr Saminathan Gopal, have instructed teachers to be on the lookout for students who need help to stay in school. 'Parents have pride. Even when they are experiencing financial difficulties, they might not approach the school,' he said.

Others say they will pull out all the stops to keep students in school. Many give free meals to their needy students and some even give transport fares to those who cannot afford to take a bus to school.

Kranji Primary, for example, has topped up the ez-link cards of some cash-strapped pupils who skipped classes when they could not afford bus fares.

One parent who is grateful for the bigger MOE kitty is Taferin's mother, Ms Angela Goh, 42. 'When my children were in primary schooI, I used to cry at night knowing I had no money,' she said. 'Getting free textbooks for my children has helped to lighten my burden and I am very grateful for that.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times on February 11, 2009.