The Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Elba-upon-Santos, It reported approval and availability of $ 1,657,969.00 million in federal funds under the Direct Payment Grant to Students from agency post-secondary institutions.

The primary goal of the assistance is to provide emergency scholarships to students whose lives and education have been disrupted by the pandemic.

In addition, the designated secretary for DE expected that the Department of Technical Education would implement distributions of funds to active students who are currently affected by the pandemic emergency. About 1,475 students qualify for federal aid.

In the case of DE, the eligible institutions are: Technological Institute of Puerto Rico, San Juan Campuses, Ponce, Manatee and Guayama; Troqueleria y Herramentaje de Bayamón (ETH) and Puerto Rico Aviation Maintenance Institute in Fajardo (PRAMI).

The Federal Department of Education (USDE) reports the availability of $ 21.2 billion to post-secondary institutions in the country, under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF).

The Central Economic Assistance Unit of the Economic Development Association determines the process for granting funds. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) grant will allow students to use this financial aid to cover the costs of materials, technology, food, and housing, among other expenses related to their education interruption. The secretary stated: “We are planning to start disbursement from February 26, 2021, and this will be done by bank transfer for all students who have active registration status during the second semester of the 2020-2021 academic year.”

The amount to be spent for each student will be approximately $ 1,100. As part of the processes, students will be notified in writing and will be required to complete the required documents. For this, the systems have been programmed so that notification is sent automatically to their email accounts, through the SIS system.