THE Ministry of Education is still working on the logistics for the disbursement of the $10,000 grant for children in public schools, according to the Education Minister, Dr. Priya Manickchand.She made the disclosure in the National Assembly Wednesday night, in answer to a question from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) and Shadow Education Minister Amna Ally, requiring an oral reply.
CASHLESS TRANSACTION
The Opposition MP queried what mechanism would be employed by the Education Ministry to disburse the monies promised in Budget 2014.
The expenditure was approved by the House during the 2014 Budget debates in April and was one of several measures announced by Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, to contribute to the improvement of the lives of the Guyanese people.
The provision caters for each nursery, primary and secondary school student in Guyana.
Manickchand said the process of finalising the mechanisms should be completed within another three weeks.
She explained that the current challenge relates to the fact that the public education system has over 188,000 students and time is needed to examine all the possible facilities that can be used to disburse the monies.
The minister noted, too, that her Ministry is working with parents and private partners to ensure that the children receive the promised benefit.
After the announcement of the financial support, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon said, in April, that Cabinet was exploring ways through which the $10,000 per child cash grant can be paid.
“The main focus is access…whether the access would be unfettered, essentially open-ended and the parents have absolute discretion…,” the HPS stated.
He added that Cabinet is also looking at ways through which the disbursement could contribute to a cashless transaction or at least promote the development of financial services in Guyana.
The Ministries of Finance and Education and entrepreneurs alike have all recognised that handling disbursements in that manner can enhance the improvement of the financial sector, he asserted.
Dr. Luncheon said ‘cashless’ does not involve an actual cash transfer; instead, a voucher can be given to the parents as is done in the uniform assistance programme, whereby specific items of clothing and other school requirements can be purchased.
He noted that the other possibility is not exactly cashless, whereby public officers could receive this grant along with their salaries and other emoluments which are deposited in bank accounts.
This cash grant initiative by the Government will benefit approximately 188,406 families and will cost a total of $2B.
Source: (By Vanessa Narine ) http://guyanachronicle.com/2014/05/22/after-parliament-approval