The federal government has been working for a number of years to enhance student grants and loans, and more than 40% of students now receive financial assistance from federal student-aid programs. Rising tuition fees have placed an increasingly heavy burden on students in recent years, and the federal government is endeavoring to enhance its student-aid programs in various ways, including the establishment of the National Service program in September 1993. Under this program 100,000 people who have been involved in activities that benefit the community, such as social welfare and environmental protection, can receive a maximum of $4,725 a year for up to two years to help cover the tuition fees of universities and other institutions of higher education.
