Online applications open for child tuition and feeding subsidy scheme

As of August 28, 2023, parents of eligible children up to four years old can apply for the Child Tuition and Feeding Subsidy Scheme through a dedicated online platform. The initiative aims to provide financial support to parents for early childhood education and nutrition.

Applications for the scheme must be submitted electronically via the official government portal at www.gov.cy or through the Social Welfare website at www.wbas.dmsw.gov.cy. It's important to note that each child's application is considered effective from the first day of the month in which it is submitted. Therefore, applications received by September 30, 2023, will qualify for the full subsidy for the entire month of September. Applications submitted after this date will be granted subsidies from the beginning of the month in which they are filed.

Since the launch of the online platform, a total of 3,122 applications from eligible children have already been submitted and approved.

The application process for parents is straightforward, requiring no additional documentation. To be eligible, parents must already qualify for the Child Benefit for the year 2023 and have enrolled their eligible child in a participating nursery or preschool. Additionally, parents must know the six-digit class/section identification number assigned to their child by the nursery or preschool.

To access the platform, the applying parent must have an active profile on the government portal www.gov.cy or have followed the corresponding procedure on the ARIADNI Portal.

Parents applying through the platform will be required to provide the following information:

- The six-digit identification number assigned by the nursery/preschool
- The number of hours of attendance
- The child's date of birth
- Date of enrollment
- Final monthly fees, inclusive of all fixed monthly charges and any applicable discounts
- Parent's mobile phone number
- Parent's email address

For additional information and answers to common queries, interested parties can visit the "Frequently Asked Questions" section on the Social Welfare website at https://bit.ly/3wLpo2P.

Furthermore, a list of approved daycare and preschool providers participating in the Tuition and Feeding Subsidy Scheme for Children up to four years of age is available on the Welfare Benefits Management Service website of the Ministry of Social Welfare. This list includes a total of 303 approved providers and can be accessed at https://t.ly/1nbcR. The list is regularly updated with the inclusion of nurseries and kindergartens whose applications have been processed and approved.

[Source: Press release]