SINDA, together with the Tamils Representative Council (TRC) and the Singapore Indian Education Trust (SIET), gave out 800 back-to-school kits to students at the Indian Community Bursary Awards Ceremony (ICBAC) and Back-to-School Festival on 3 December at Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre. The event was also a celebration of strong partnership between TRC, SIET and SINDA who pooled their resources together to provide bursaries to needy students.

Each kit comprised of items worth over $100 including a school bag with stationary items, post-it pads, sports water bottles and vouchers for POPULAR bookshop and BATA Shoes. Guests had heaps of fun playing carnival games and attended parenting as well as art and craft workshops.

Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Halimah Yacob, graced the event as the Guest-of-Honour and presented bursaries to 68 students from low-income families. The bursaries will encourage students to perform well in their academics as well as help them with their educational expenses.

Said Mdm Halimah: “Despite all this support, whether it’s bursaries, back-to-school bags and so on, if parents are not interested, and don’t take a keen interest, don’t participate in their children’s education, it will have a very minimal impact…I hope that parents will continue to give strong support to their children in the Indian community so that the Indian community can continue to do better and better”.