The Education Bureau will provide one-off relief grants for catering service suppliers for schools and post-secondary education institutions as well as interest class providers and school bus services.

Introduced under the third round of the Anti-epidemic Fund, the grants will be provided to them as their services and income were affected during the class suspension periods and cessation of on-campus activities, the bureau said.

The additional expenditure is estimated to be $248.9 million.

Catering outlet operators at primary and secondary schools and post-secondary education institutions will receive a one-off relief grant of $40,000 on each tuck shop, canteen and restaurant they operate.

Primary and secondary school lunchbox providers will get a one-off relief grant of $5,000 per school they are serving.

Each school bus driver and school private light bus driver will receive a one-off relief grant of $6,700.

The grant for nannies will also be $6,700, but it will be on a vehicle basis. The subsidy of $6,700 will be shared among nannies based on their proportion of service time if more than one nanny serves in the same vehicle.

Regarding instructors, coaches, trainers and interest class operators engaged by schools, each operator and service provider will get a one-off relief grant of $5,000.

The bureau is issuing circular memoranda today and tomorrow to all primary, secondary and special schools and kindergartens to inform them of the relief grant details.

It has also distributed application forms through the post-secondary education institutions to the catering outlets operating on their campuses.

Depending on the disbursement arrangements for respective grants, the bureau will generally disburse the subsidy in about a month upon receipt of certified application forms.