The Erasmus grants have been the subject of much debate during the past months, with the Government wanting to slash such financial assistance as part of cost-cutting measures.
For the next academic year, the Ministry of Education appears to have decided it will no longer top up the Erasmus European exchange program grants provided by Brussels, but will instead offer 10,000 students its own grants, nut with more stringent academic requirements.
For students to qualify they will need an exceptional academic record and also be able to demonstrate upper intermediate level (B2) knowledge of the language of the country in which they will be taking classes. The exact grades required under the new scheme have not yet been announced –
Students meeting these requirements will receive a 350-euro monthly grant, which is 100 euros more than the average Brussels grant. Those lower achieving students unable to obtain a ministry grant will automatically be able to opt for a European grant of either 200 or 300 euros, depending on the destination country.
Students are supposed to have acquired an intermediate (B1) level in languages by the end of high school, so the new measure means they will have to take further, often costly steps to improve to upper-intermediate (B2) in order to qualify for a grant.