The student grant is set for its first substantive revision in nearly three decades, following pressure from MPs, stakeholders and thousands of citizens for higher support and fairer eligibility rules.
At the House Education Committee on Wednesday, Finance Ministry officials said a new bill is being drafted with revised criteria and an increase in the grant amount. For families with five or more children, income and asset thresholds are expected to be removed so they can also benefit.
The issue was tabled by AKEL MPs. The party’s parliamentary leader, Christos Christofides, stressed that the grant’s budget has fallen sharply in recent years, while its purchasing power has been eroded by high prices, inflation and soaring rents. He noted that although the allowances students receive have remained unchanged for 27 years, the overall allocation dropped from €75 million in 2013 to €50.8 million during 2019-2024 and now stands at €48 million.
“There is a clear need to revise both the amount and the criteria of the student grant,” Christofides said, citing cases where families were unfairly excluded, such as foster families or those where a parent received a redundancy fund payout after losing their job.
DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides added that there were instances where a mother receiving the Guaranteed Minimum Income (EEE) did get the student grant, but then lost her EEE support.
Officials from the Finance Ministry’s Grants and Allowances Service clarified that, under instructions from the competent minister, the student grant assessment will no longer count the aforementioned benefits or redundancy fund payments when determining eligibility.