Text file: 7620.txt
author: DavidLove
downvotes: 8
end consideration date: 2016-07-26
id: '7620'
number comments: 5
number views: 4338
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities\n\
  We would like to start by explaining that the Law on Scholarships (Official Journal\
  \ of the Republic of Slovenia, No 56/13, as amended), which also newly regulated\
  \ the Zois scholarship system, was adopted in 2013 and became applicable from the\
  \ 2014/2015 school/study year. Unlike the previous system, the current system of\
  \ Zois scholarships provides more incentives for students to achieve outstanding\
  \ results and \"pushes\" them to perform well during their education. This is because\
  \ eligibility for the grant is reassessed for each level of education, whereas under\
  \ the previous regime, scholarship holders who obtained a Zois scholarship in secondary\
  \ education retained the scholarship until the end of their education (i.e. also\
  \ during their studies), provided they were in full-time education. In view of the\
  \ above, the current conditions for retaining the Zois scholarship for the entire\
  \ period of education are stricter than in the past.\nThe amount of the basic grant,\
  \ established by the 2007 Act on Scholarships (Z\u0160tip: Official Gazette of the\
  \ Republic of Slovenia, No 59/07, as amended), was in fact lower than the current\
  \ amount, but the following supplements to the basic grant were possible: a supplement\
  \ for the type and field of education, a supplement for education outside the permanent\
  \ place of residence, a supplement for learning or study achievement, a supplement\
  \ based on the income of the scholarship holder's family and a supplement for scholars\
  \ with special needs. Over the years, some of the allowances have been abolished,\
  \ either as a result of austerity measures or because of a different regulation\
  \ of the field, which led to the decision to increase the amount of the basic grant\
  \ and abolish the allowances (except for the residence allowance and the special\
  \ needs allowance) when the new law was adopted (Act No. Z\u0160tip-1). Under the\
  \ new regulation, Zois scholarship holders are also not eligible for the success\
  \ allowance, as this can only be granted in addition to the state grant. The average\
  \ amount of the Zois scholarship under the old and the new law remains roughly the\
  \ same; thus, between 2013 and 2016, the average amount is around EUR 170, whereas\
  \ in the years before 2013, the average amount of the Zois scholarship was even\
  \ higher (around EUR 200). For studying abroad, the Z\u0160tip-1 also maintains\
  \ the level of entitlements from the previous regime, so that a scholarship holder\
  \ studying abroad is entitled to double the basic scholarship. The purpose of this\
  \ arrangement is to cover the higher costs incurred by the scholarship holder as\
  \ a result of living and studying abroad. It should be noted that students who are\
  \ studying abroad on a full-time basis are not eligible for the Erasmus+ grant that\
  \ exchange students can obtain (and retain the Zois grant in addition to the grant),\
  \ which is also intended to cover the living costs of their stay abroad.\nThe living\
  \ allowance is granted under Article 18 of the Act on the Education and Training\
  \ of Students-1 to a scholarship holder who has a registered temporary residence\
  \ in the place of education, provided that the place of residence is more than 25\
  \ km away from the place of education, the rent costs at least EUR 65 per month\
  \ and the scholarship holder is not the owner or co-owner of the property in which\
  \ he/she is staying at the time of the stay. These conditions must be met cumulatively,\
  \ i.e. all of them must be met for the scholarship holder to be eligible for this\
  \ allowance. The allowance is intended to cover part of the costs incurred by the\
  \ scholarship holder as a result of living away from his/her place of residence,\
  \ as he/she has to pay other costs (running costs, food, etc.) in addition to the\
  \ rent. Thus, it is not true that scholarship holders who live at home and commute\
  \ to the place of education would be eligible for the allowance, as the allowance\
  \ is intended only for those who actually live in the place of education. In order\
  \ to qualify for the residence allowance, scholarship holders must present a rental\
  \ contract with the landlord showing the amount of rent and have a registered temporary\
  \ residence at that address. With regard to the special needs allowance, we would\
  \ like to clarify that the special needs allowance is intended as an incentive for\
  \ scholars with special needs to attain a higher level of education and, at the\
  \ same time, to partially cover the higher costs incurred by persons with special\
  \ needs (assistance, aids), as education is one of the prerequisites for living\
  \ as independently as possible. Notwithstanding the above, we note that there are\
  \ not many Zois scholarship holders who would benefit from the above-mentioned allowance,\
  \ as the allowance is granted to students enrolled in adapted programmes, which\
  \ are practically non-existent among Zois scholarship holders (approximately 20\
  \ such allowances were granted in 2016).\nAs regards the receipt of the Zois grant\
  \ during the summer holidays, the MDDSZ explains that the regime is the same for\
  \ all grants and that it was also the same under the old Z\u0160tip. Scholarships\
  \ are also paid during the summer months, except in the final year of secondary\
  \ education, when the scholarship holder does not receive a scholarship for July\
  \ and August. This arrangement is in line with the purpose of the scholarship, which\
  \ is to promote education and the attainment of a higher level of education of the\
  \ scholarship holders, and the responsibility of the scholarship holders for their\
  \ education and choice of educational programme, which is also reflected in the\
  \ entitlement to the payment of the scholarship during the holidays, which enables\
  \ the scholarship holder to partially cover the costs of purchasing school supplies\
  \ for the following school/study year. However, scholarship holders are not entitled\
  \ to a residence allowance during the holidays if they are no longer eligible and\
  \ therefore move from their temporary residence back to their permanent residence\
  \ by the start of the new school/school year.\nIn view of all the above, the MoLSA\
  \ considers that the current arrangements for the Zois scholarship are adequate\
  \ and that no changes are necessary. The Zois scholarships are intended for talented\
  \ students, the conditions are difficult to achieve and, in the opinion of our Ministry,\
  \ further abolition of the allowances would have a negative impact on the achievement\
  \ of the objectives of the measure.\n "
response date: 2017-12-18
response due date: null
sent date: 2016-06-27
title: Additions to the basic amount of the Zois grant
upvotes: 15
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/7620
