2021-2024 education cash grant adds up to $26.9 billion – Finance Minister

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh Monday joined other ministers in the countrywide distribution of the 2024 ‘Because We Care’ education cash grant distribution, saying that the total distribution will amount to $9.2 billion; and when this is added to the distribution over the past three years, he said the total in education cash grants would add up to $26.9 billion.

Dr Singh was at Queen’s College in Georgetown Monday morning.

While addressing parents and teachers present, he said that the restoration and subsequent increase of the Government’s cash grant to school children on the PPP/C’s return to office, is the delivery of one of the Party’s 2020 manifesto promises.

He explained that the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant of $40,000 this year has substantially increased from $15,000 in 2021. Together with the uniform allowance of $5,000, this year’s grant to each child will amount to $45,000.

He noted that following the disbursement of the grants, the government will have transferred a total of $9.2 billion to parents of school-age children for this year alone, while for the period 2021-2024, a total of $26.9 billion in cash grants will have been disbursed to school children under the programme.

He emphasized that the government considers as its highest priority, investing in young people, and in particular, in the children of Guyana, so that they are able to realise their full potential.

In this regard, the education sector’s budgetary allocation for 2024 has increased significantly from $52.8 billion in 2019 to $135.2 billion to further realise the Government’s vision of world class education.

Also used the opportunity to highlight that this era is the most exciting time to be young in Guyana, noting that in this new Guyana, the rate at which the economy is growing, there are incredible new opportunities arising in every single sector of the country.