$30,000 cash grant for schoolchildren to be distributed from July

The Ministry of Education will commence the distribution of this year’s ‘Because We Care’ cash grant and the schoolchildren’s uniform voucher from July, Education Minister Priya Manickchand announced on Wednesday.

“At the end of July, every single student will receive $30, 000,” Manickchand said, noting that these cash transfers are being offered to children in public and private schools.

With the government promising to incrementally increase the sum offered each year, it is expected that each child will receive $25,000 under the ‘Because we care’ initiative. The uniform grant has also been increased to $5,000, meaning that each child is expected to receive a total of $30,000.

As she addressed the Ministry of Education’s regional awards ceremony, hosted at the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown, the Education Minister also announced that the ongoing school’s textbook distribution programme will be extended to secondary school students.

“By September, every student from Grade Seven to Grade 13 will have all the Mathematics, Literature and English (textbooks) they need,” Manickchand said.

And over the next two years, she assured the public that all textbooks needed by secondary school students will be provided.

During an outreach to Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) in April, President Dr. Irfaan Ali had announced secondary school students across the country will start to receive their textbooks. This follows the distribution of all the required textbooks to primary school children; this distribution started last year.

As per the 2022 National Budget, the Ministry of Education’s budget allocation includes a $1.2 billion sum for the purchase of textbooks for public school learners.