Students receive first 'stay in school' bonuses

The first bonuses for students eligible for the new weekly Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payment scheme are being paid out this week.

The bonus is part of the scheme to encourage teenagers to stay in education after they turn 16. The bonus, which is paid after a student's return after their first term, is one of a series available for performance and good attendance. Students are eligible for a bonus payment of £100 every January and July and also in October, if they return for a second year. Bonuses depend on a student's progress on their course, but could be worth up to £500 over two years.

The EMA scheme encourages students who live in a household with an annual income of less than £30,000, to stay in further education, by granting them payments of up to £30 a week for regular attendance on their courses.

Commenting on the scheme, Ivan Lewis, Minister for Skills and Vocational Education, said: "With this extra cash, young people who might have been tempted to drop out of their courses into low paid jobs after the New Year holiday have been given a huge incentive to stay on.

"We have one of the worst post-16 dropout rates in the world and are determined to reverse this. The bonus is an important part of our overall EMA package and it's extremely encouraging that so many students have qualified for their first payments."

Britain has one of the worst post-sixteen dropout rates in the world. Almost 83,000 16-year-olds dropped out of education following their GCSEs last year.

Young people aged 17 between September 1, 2004 and August 31, 2005, are eligible for the payments if they undertake at least 12 hours of guided learning on further education courses per week.

(KMcA/SP)