By Lim Yi Han
THE Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) has relaxed
its income eligibility criteria to ensure that more lower-income
families will benefit from its programmes and assistance
schemes.
Minister Lim Swee Say, CDAC board chairman, announced on
Wednesday that the revised income ceiling takes into account that
household income has gone up based on information from the
Department of Statistics and that cost of living is of a greater
concern for the lower household income group.
Under the existing income criteria, the monthly household income
should be no more than $2500 in order for a student from a low
income family to qualify for the CDAC tuition programme, for
example.
Alternatively, the per capita income of the family should not be
more than $650.
With the revised income critera, the income ceiling is raised to
$2700 and $700 per monthly household income and per capita income
respectively for a student to qualify for the tuition
programme.
The income eligibility criteria was last revised in January
2009. The new set of criteria will take effect from April 1 this
year.