-Ministry of Education continues consultations
The Ministry of Education, as a part of the Government’s $10,000 per child grant which was allotted in the 2014 National Budget, is currently engaging parents and guardians of school-age children on the most suitable way in which it can be issued. This grant is set to be available in the September school term.Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, during a recent visit to Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) engaged parents of 45 schools in nine separate meetings ‘on how the Ministry can best provide the grant to them’.
Manickchand told the gathering who attended the consultations “it is not $10,000 per household so a mother with 10 children can be sure that she will be receiving $100,000 for her children, each child of school age is entitled to the $10,000 grant.”
From much discussion and deliberations it was unanimously chosen by parents and guardians to be able to ‘cash’ voucher. Ms. Manickchand also consulted the parents and guardians on the question of which financial service they would prefer to be able to get their cash. On the Essequibo Coast, the parents have four services available to them. These are the banks, post offices, Western Union and GT&T’s mobile money.
Some parents noted that they were expecting to receive their grant before school reopens in September. However, Ms.Manickchand explained that the grant will be issued in the new school term to facilitate the children now entering the public school system. She added that as many as 10,000 children are expected to start school in September, and based on the law, until they start school at the beginning of the term, they will not be counted as children attending school.
The Minister and a team of Education Officers during last week were involved in a similar consultation at the Stella Maris Nursery, the New Diamond/Grove Primary School and the Golden Grove Primary school on the East Coast of Demerara, which also saw impressive crowds. Earlier in the month, Minister Manickchand and team travelled to and consulted with parents of Region 9 over a three-day period.
Source: https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/07/11/parents-to-get-10000-grant-in-september-term