Central Switzerland Nidwalden makes adjustments to the Scholarship Act
In the canton of Nidwalden, people who still live with their parents should now also be able to count housing costs when calculating scholarships. This is one of several corrections that the cantonal government wants to implement with a partial revision of the Scholarship Act.
12.09.2024, 09:59
SDA
At present, applicants in the canton of Nidwalden who still live with their parents cannot offset any contribution towards housing costs. Due to the high rents and to "compensate for a disproportion compared to independent living", the cantonal government wants to change this, as it announced on Thursday.
It also plans to increase the age limit for receiving education loans from 40 to 50 in order to promote "lifelong learning" and to "align" the allowances with the neighboring cantons of Uri and Obwalden. In addition, the submission deadline for scholarship applications is to be extended from two to four months after the start of training.
The government council has spent around 800,000 francs on education grants in recent years, according to the press release. This was around CHF 100,000 less than the figure forecast for the completely revised Scholarship Act 2019. The financial impact is now at a similar level, the government council wrote. The bill could improve support through education grants, Education Director Res Schmid (SVP) is quoted as saying in the press release.
The government council's plans will now go out for consultation and are expected to be discussed in the Landrat in spring 2025. They are set to come into force on August 1, 2025.
