The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on many this year, especially on the economic front. Many families have been affected, with workers getting retrenched or getting pay cuts.
To help students from such families cope better, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) announced that their staff have donated 20,145 days of unused leave towards student aid and endowments.
This initiative by NTU allows their employees to put unused leave towards a good cause — showing their support to students.
As 2020 draws to an end, 1,821 NTU employees donated a total of 20,145 days of unused leave to help students in need.
This amounted to a whopping $10.25 million, NTU said in a media release on Monday (23 Nov).
The value of each employee’s leaves are based on their individual salary rates.
On average, each NTU employee contributed 11 days of leave, with the highest donation being 15 days.
NTU employees have between 21 and 42 days of annual leave, depending on their employment scheme and length of employment.
Allowing employees to make ‘leave donations’ is part of the school’s initiative to put unused leaves to good use, especially in a year like this one.
It was conducted on an opt-in basis where each staff was given the option to donate the value of their unused leave, to an NTU fund of their choice.
Dr Babu Narayanswamy, an NTU staff who donated 14 days of leave, said that in such tumultuous times, he was thankful to have a job that has not been adversely impacted by the pandemic.
For him, it is a time for those who can afford to to pitch in and help in any way they can.
NTU aims to continue this initiative, with another round of the exercise scheduled for next October.
An NTU spokesperson expressed that the donations demonstrated the school’s commitment to the success and well being of students.
According to the media release, the university recognises that some students have been hit especially hard by the pandemic.
Some of their parents have had their incomes reduced or even lost their jobs.
At such a pivotal moment, NTU felt it was all the more important to rally their community’s support to help students.
Back in April, NTU also started a $2 million fund, OneNTU for students struggling to cope with the pandemic. T
he fund provided eligible students with interest-free advance of up to S$1,500. Students can then reimburse the university within two years after graduation.
Kudos to NTU for such a creative and meaningful initiative.
It is heartening to see the school’s community banding together to help one another in difficult times.
The university has certainly been a great example for other schools and organisations to look to.
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