Latest update June 5th, 2026 12:40 AM
Latest News
Upper Mazaruni gets school uniform material
Villages in the Upper Mazaruni sub-district were presented with school uniform material over the weekend. Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, during a visit to Region Seven, distributed the material to
Member of Parliament for A Partnership for National Unity, Dawn Hastings, receives school uniform material for her village from Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai
representatives of more than a dozen villages.
While the raw material was distributed to the hinterland communities, contracts for the sewing of the uniforms are awarded to residents of the respective villages.
Government’s hinterland school uniform programme was initiated in 2003 to boost school attendance and to ensure children acquire an education. This programme has now become national.
The Administration’s goal is to ensure that every child, despite their geographical location, is afforded the opportunity to an education.
The uniform voucher distribution exercise nationwide, ensures all students who are recipients en-cash them at pre-identified merchants and suppliers in the various regions across the country. About 200,000 vulnerable families benefit from the programme which is conducted jointly by the Ministries of Education and Amerindian Affairs.
Parents residing in hinterland communities have noted that Government’s initiative to provide uniform material and sewing tools is a great help.
This programme also creates job opportunities for residents of hinterland areas. The women are given the task of sewing the uniforms for the various schools, for which they are paid, allowing them to earn an income. The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs pays the sewing cost in an effort to allow for income generation.
To date over 200,000 vouchers have been distributed across the country while over 29,000 hinterland students stand to benefit from the distribution of school uniforms.
In 2011, Government spent $266M for the school uniform programme for which over $63M was directed to the purchase of uniform material for Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9 and the remainder for the six other administrative regions.
In 2012, $296.7 million was spent and in 2013, $208M, benefitting 139,000 children.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.