Khaberni - Mohannad Al-Khatib, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, announced that the number of students nominated to benefit from university grants and loans increased this year to 60,341 students, with an increase of 7,000 beneficiaries compared to last year, confirming that the financial allocations for the University Student Support Fund reached 40 million dinars this year, an increase of 10 million dinars from last year.
Al-Khatib explained on "Al-Mamlaka" that all students benefiting from the National Aid Fund were included in the grants and loans at a rate of 100%, as were all students benefiting from the Royal Grant for teachers' children who had not benefited from it previously, at a rate of 100%.
He pointed out that the increase in allocations resulted from several measures, the first of which was increasing the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research from 20 million dinars to 30 million dinars, then a decision by the Council of Ministers to allocate the proceeds from selling all special numbers that were sold at public auction through the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Administration, which provided an additional 5 million dinars for the Student Support Fund.
Al-Khatib added that the royal directives during the patronage of His Majesty the King launching the Government's Executive Program for the years 2026–2029 also contributed to increasing the fund's allocations by an additional 5 million dinars, bringing the total allocations to 40 million dinars, which enabled the ministry to expand the range of benefiting students.
He noted that the increase this year included 7,000 new students, bringing the total number of benefiting students from about 53,000 last year to more than 60,341 students, as a result of the previous measures, confirming that the students have completed the application process to benefit from the grants and loans for this year.
Al-Khatib clarified that the number of students benefiting from the National Aid Fund reached 11,918 students, where each student whose family receives national aid obtained 400 points within the points system adopted for classifying students benefiting from the Student Support Fund.
He confirmed that 7,661 students benefiting from the Royal Grant for teachers' children, who had not benefited previously for not meeting the minimum average, were included in the grants and loans at a rate of 100% after their conditions matched the criteria of the Student Support Fund.
He indicated that the ministry continues its procedures with its partners to ensure that support reaches all beneficiaries, confirming the continuation of monitoring and follow-up to ensure the benefit of the largest possible number of students according to the approved criteria.
