Provision of Resources to Student Care Centres for Free Placements to Children from Low-income Families

Type: 
Parliamentary Questions
Topic(s): 
Financial Assistance & Social Support
Published on 07 August 2024
  1. Children from lower-income families can benefit  from the Student Care Fee Assistance scheme, or SCFA. The SCFA is a tiered subsidy  scheme, which provides monthly subsidies of up to 98% of student care fees, up to a  maximum amount of $290 per month. SCFA beneficiaries can also receive a one-off  grant of up to $400, to offset enrolment costs. 
  2. After subsidies, lower-income families can pay as little as $5 per month for the child  to attend student care. The scheme has been designed such that families co-pay an  affordable amount according to their means, rather than have fees waived entirely. This is  so that we preserve a sense of individual responsibility, which is a key tenet of our social  compact. 
  3. The Ministry of Social and Family Development will continue to review the SCFA  regularly, to ensure that student care remains affordable for lower-income families.