The Council of Labor Affairs yesterday said a drop in the number of unemployed families applying for government subsidies for their children’s tuition was a sign that the workforce was getting back on its feet after the global economic downturn.
The number of applications for government subsidies in the first semester was 5,579, a drop of more than 2,000, or almost 30 percent, from the 7,745 filed during the same period last year, statistics released by the council’s Department of Labor Welfare showed.
This also represented a drop of 1,497 applications from the 7,076 filed in the second semester last year, the council said.
BREAKDOWN
Of the 5,579 applications filed for the first semester of this school year, 1,320 were for public high school tuition, 843 for private high school tuition, 958 for public colleges and vocational schools and 2,458 for private colleges and vocational schools, the council said.
“The falling number of tuition subsidy applications is a positive sign that the nation’s workforce has gradually gained strength since the economic downturn,” said Lay Jin-feng (賴錦豐), director of the council’s Department of Labor Welfare.
POSITIVE SIGN
Lay said that since the start of the program in 2003, the council had provided more than NT$300 million (US$10 million) in tuition subsidies to 50,210 students from 34,873 families weighed down by unemployment.
The tuition subsidy applications are accepted every October and March from applicants who have been unemployed for more than six consecutive months, received unemployment subsidies for more than one month and whose total family income is less than NT$1.14 million annually. Applicants with children who are formally registered in high school, vocational school or college are eligible for the subsidy.
The subsidies are between NT$3,000 and NT$5,000 per student in public senior high schools or vocational schools (including the first three years of five-year college programs) and in private senior high schools or vocational schools (including the first three years of five-year college programs), respectively. They are between NT$5,000 and NT$10,000 per student in public colleges (including the last two years of five-year college programs) and in private colleges (including the last two years of five-year college programs) respectively.
Applications are available on the councils Web site and can also be obtained at local Bureau of Labor Insurance offices.
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