The city yesterday awarded grants to 11,000 needy students. Ten thousand students living under the city's poverty line each received a one-year grant of 1,500 yuan (US$185).

Another 1,000 each got 3,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, 16,620 elite needy students got subsidies totaling 30.15 million yuan from the national scholarship and grant fund yesterday.

"We are proud to announce that no student dropped out of school for financial reasons in the past 13 consecutive years," said Zhang Minxuan, vice director of the Shanghai Education Commission.

Local universities have launched various preferential policies to help the needy, including grants and scholarships, low-interest tuition loans and tuition discounts.

Last November, the city government also launched a scholarship to reward elite needy students and university graduates who work in the country's underdeveloped western regions for one or two years.

The city government's scholarship budget this year is expected to exceed 21 million yuan, commission officials said.

Besides, individual universities also arrange part-time jobs for the needy.

East China Normal University, for instance, offered up to 14,000 part-time tutor jobs to students last year.

Students could also get 14 yuan for each trip to work.

(Shanghai Daily January 19, 2006)