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LinkedinPublication: 10 March 2017 Latest update: 10 May 2023
What is it?
INPS supports students through the provision of scholarships intended to cover part of the costs of attending upper and lower secondary school, university and, for commuter students, Higher Technical Institutes (ITS).
Who is it aimed at?
The scholarships are aimed at the children (and orphans or equivalents) of:
- members (employed or pensioners) of the Unified Scheme of Credit and Social Benefits;
- pensioners benefiting from the Civil Servants’ Pension Scheme.
Scholarships for upper and lower secondary schools and universities are also aimed at children (and orphans or equivalent) of:
- those registered with the Teachers and School Managers Assistance Scheme;
- Poste Italiane SpA Group employees, ex IPOST employees (subject to a monthly withholding tax of 0.40% pursuant to law n. 208 of 27 March 1952), pensioners who were employees of the Poste Italiane SpA Group and ex IPOST employees.
How does it work?
Scholarships are awarded through separate competition notices: one for upper and lower secondary schools; one for post-secondary education, universities, post-graduate and vocational training; and one for commuter students attending Higher Technical Institutes (ITS).
Students who attend a school located in a municipality at least 100 km away and in a province other than their province of residence are classed as commuter students. The distance of 100km refers to the shortest possible route and includes the use of public transport.
The publication of the notices generally happens between the penultimate quarter of one year and the first quarter of the following year and can be found in Welfare, Assistance and Mutuality section.
Claim
REQUIREMENTS
Applicants for upper and lower secondary school scholarships and for post-secondary education, universities, post-graduate and vocational training scholarships may have studied at:
- state or legally recognised schools and universities;
- Italian schools abroad;
- European Schools of the European Union;
- foreign institutes, whose courses are legally recognised as being equivalent to those in Italy.
Applicants for the attendance of Higher Technical Institutes must:
- have obtained their upper secondary school qualifications (or the four-year vocational education and training qualification for those who have participated in a one-year integrated Higher technical education and training (IFTS) course);
- meet the minimum attendance requirements of the Higher Technical Institute (only applicable to those who have already completed the first year of the training course or the second year in the case of a three-year course);
- not be in receipt of any other similar allowances provided by INPS, the State or other public or private institutes, in Italy or abroad, with a value of more than 50% of the amount of the scholarship offered for the academic year in question;
- be commuter students in a municipality at least 100 km away and in a province other than their province of residence. The distance of 100 km refers to the shortest possible route and includes the use of public transport. This distance is reduced to 50 km for residents of mountainous or particularly difficult to reach areas;
- be no more than 32 years of age.
Furthermore, applicants must meet other conditions required by the competition notice, including merit requirements.
It is useful to know that:
- recipients of the scholarships are decided based on their academic achievement and their position in a ranking whereby the better the applicant’s performance in school and the lower the income, the higher the applicant will be positioned;
- when establishing the national rankings, a reserve is set aside for the particular categories indicated in the notice (orphans and equivalents, disabled persons, etc.).
Applicants who already receive or have previously received another benefit from INPS, the State or other institutes for the school or academic year in competition that is worth more than half of the amount of the scholarship are excluded.
HOW CAN I CLAIM?
Claims must be submitted to INPS using the dedicated online service, by:
- parents who are registered or retired (as pension holders/applicants);
- surviving parents or guardians (as applicants);
- students of legal age (as applicants/beneficiaries).
Processing times
The deadline to define the decision was set at 30 days by the Regulation for the definition of the terms to conclude the administrative proceedings adopted by INPS pursuant to Article 2 of Law no. 241/1990.
The table attached to the Regulation shows the deadlines for defining the measures established by the Institute that are longer than the normal 30-day period, and the indication of the relative manager.