The Cyprus Union of Nursing Staff (Oyyk-Sek) on Thursday welcomed Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides’ initiative and the cabinet’s decision to approve an additional grant scheme for nursing and midwifery students, saying it had been advocating for such a measure for the past two years. The union said it believes the new measure “will have a multiplying effect” in encouraging secondary school graduates to pursue studies in nursing and midwifery. It noted that the scheme provides an annual grant to undergraduate nursing students, with the amount increasing according to the year of study. First-year students will receive €1,000, second-year students €1,250, third-year students €1,500 and fourth-year students €2,000 per year. Oyyk-Sek added that the scheme will be available to permanent residents of the Republic of Cyprus enrolled in nursing or midwifery programmes and will come into effect in September.