College students who are also getting federal money receive more than NMTI students do, she added.
“We want them [SHEFA to] raise the incentive they provide to NMTI because our students don’t have enough money and they need to buy tools,” she said.
At present, she said each NMTI student is getting $600 from SHEFA. “They need about $3,000 for their studies and training sessions at the trade school.”
Nevertheless, McPhetres also thanked SHEFA board for granting the NMTI request to waive the deadlines in the submission of the applicants’ supporting documents.
SHEFA, which gets its funding from the annual poker license fee collections on the island, provides $800 for grant-in-aid; $1,000 for each priority field of study; and $1,000 in merit incentive award for undergraduate and graduate students on island.
Each off-island recipient receives $1,200 for grant-in-aid; $1,000 for priority field of study; $1,500 merit incentive award; and $4,500 for those taking an advanced degree.
In June, the SHEFA board decided to suspend the merit incentive award and priority field of study award due to a lack of funding.
