Student cash grants to be distributed later this year

Minister of Education, Hon. Priya Manickchand says the $15,000 cash grant for students in the public school system would be distributed later this year.

The Minister made this disclosure during an interview on 97.5 FM radio with Ms. Melissa Davy on Tuesday.

Minister Manickchand said the programme would be rolled out once systems are in place to ensure the public’s safety amid the Covid pandemic.

“We don’t want to bring people together and when we say this incentive is there and it is available and come to the park, and you will have to be socially distanced to collect it, everybody comes. I don’t want to put people at risk.”

In 2014, the PPP/C Government launched the “Because We Care” project aimed at providing support to parents with school-age children. The grant increased their disposable income by helping them to meet their children’s needs, leading to increased enrolment and class attendance.

On August 31, 2020, soon after he took office, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced several measures for the education sector, including the restoration of the education cash grants to thousands of school children.

This resuscitated initiative saw an increase from $10,000 in 2015 to $15,000 per student in the public system. The school uniform and supplies voucher grant was also doubled to $4,000.

Meanwhile, the Education Minister said she soon plans to make an announcement about the much-anticipated National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

“I will also make an announcement I hope by tomorrow through a press conference about our NGSA this year and where we will be and what we will be doing,” she said. The Ministry was allocated $60.7 billion this year, the largest sectoral allocation from the $383.1 billion National Budget.