During the Covid-19 crisis, students have access to a total of three support options – study and student loans, employment scholarships and monthly scholarships, Education and Science (IZM).
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The Ministry recalled that with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the MES was looking for solutions to reduce the impact of the crisis on the education and science sector, including students.
Currently, students are offered a total of three support options, the first two of which apply to all students – both public and private students.
The Ministry of Education and Science emphasized that in the new 2020/2021. during the study year, the possibility to receive a study and student loan with a guarantee provided on behalf of the state has been significantly facilitated. In order to receive a loan, you do not need a second guarantor, the process of drawing up documents is also faster and more convenient, thus making higher education more accessible to a wider circle of the population. From August 12, students could apply for loans on Swedbank’s website or branch.
At the same time, the ministry emphasized that with the adoption of the law “On the State Budget for 2020”, it was planned that the demand for new loans would increase to 2,000 new loans per year, but the labor market situation and students’ ability to cover tuition fees , working in parallel with the studies, therefore the demand for new loans exceeded the number forecast before the emergency, and their issuance was temporarily suspended.
However, the ministry found an opportunity to reallocate 650,000 euros of funding from its budget to allow for the resumption of studies and student loans.
Employment scholarships awarded by the Ministry of Welfare are also available to students. The Ministry of Education and Science explained that full-time students who have acquired the status of unemployed have the opportunity to participate in a skills and abilities development event that would allow students to develop research, organizational and information technology skills during their studies.
Students participating in this event will be paid a scholarship of 10 euros for each day of participation, which is approximately 200 euros per month. The Ministry of Education and Science stated that the duration of the event is up to six months and it is planned to involve 3,000 unemployed people, for whom funding in the amount of 3.6 million euros is planned.
The third support option is monthly scholarships. The Ministry of Education and Science emphasized that when assessing the consequences of the socio-economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and taking into account Latvian Student Associations the results of the student survey, Cabinet of Ministers creates an opportunity to allocate support funding for 2020/2021. study year.
An additional 5.1 million euros have been allocated for the implementation of this one-off support, distributed to MES, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Welfare and subordinate colleges and universities in proportion to the number of state-funded study places in 2020.
This means that the amount of the minimum monthly stipend for 2020/2021. was increased from 99.60 euros to 200 euros during the study year.
The Ministry of Education and Science also reminded that it is possible to postpone the repayment of the principal amount of study and student loans for a period of up to six months. You can apply for a deferral of the repayment of the principal amount until 31 December 2020.
An application for deferral of the repayment of the principal amount must be submitted to the State Education Development Agency, which took over the function of study credit administration as of 1 July this year.
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