ST School Pocket Money Fund, Quantedge Foundation tie-up gives credits for enrichment

Hyder Albar, who oversees the Social Mobility Fund at Quantedge Foundation, said higher-income households are more likely to be able to afford services and products than lower-income households, whose lack of access can compound to a disadvantage over time.

For example, a report published by the Institute of Policy Studies on Sept 25 found that mean monthly tuition expenditure increased from $318 in 2016 to $677 in 2026. A lower-income family may not be able to afford spending that money on tuition, said Albar.

In the initial phase, the new fund will support 50 Singaporean children from families with a per capita income of $1,000 or below. The platform will be improved based on how families use the digital wallet and make choices.

The $3,000 will be disbursed in three tranches of $1,000.

The platform’s offerings include tuition, dance lessons, drawing and painting lessons, robotics classes, coding classes, football training and swimming lessons.

It will also offer products that support learning or participation, such as books or activity equipment like tennis rackets.

The Social Mobility Fund aims to benefit more families and children from a broader age group in the future, and bring in more philanthropic partners.

While the fund allows families to choose freely from the courses available, a child who repeatedly misses classes after enrolment may not be able to access further bookings.

Selected products will have purchase limits – higher-value products, such as guitars, may be limited to one per child.

During the appreciation lunch, founder and chief executive of MES Group Mohamed Abdul Jaleel also presented a cheque for $500,000 to the STSPMF.

STSPMF beneficiary Krystal Lim said she hopes to take part in art classes or acting lessons if she gets access to the Social Mobility Fund.

The 11-year-old West Spring Primary School pupil’s dream is to be an action movie star, taking after her idols Zendaya and Tom Cruise.

Started by ST in 2000, STSPMF provides pocket money to children from low-income families to help them through school.

It has since helped more than 230,000 children and youth in need and disbursed more than $110 million.

Primary school pupils get $65 a month, secondary school students receive $100 a month, while students from the Institute of Technical Education, junior colleges and polytechnics get $125 a month.