School voucher distribution kicks off in Berbice

Nov 22, 2020 News

A student receives her voucher from Minister Priya Manickchand

Kaieteur News – The school uniform voucher distribution kicked off in Berbice yesterday with three ministers of government, including the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, present to ensure that the process went smoothly.
Minister Manickchand visited from the Tagore Memorial Secondary to the Kildonan Primary/Nursery while Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, visited from J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School unto the Manchester Secondary School. Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, made visits to schools in New Amsterdam and on the East Bank Berbice.
Minister Manickchand, during a brief interview with reporters, stated that the voucher programme seeks to address all public school students and in Berbice, just over 22,000 students will receive the voucher of $4,000 each.
Approximately $90M has been allocated to be distributed in Berbice.
“This year it is $4,000 across the coastlands; that’s about 160,000 students who will get it. That amounts to about $650M. In the hinterlands, we give uniform fabric, this year some money will be given and it’s a process,” the Minister said.
After receiving the vouchers, parents are able to visit the local stores with the voucher.
“The way stores are credited is that they respond to a public advertisement that the Ministry puts out to say they are interested in being in the programme. We are very pleased to bring this. This is just a small part of the assistance, which we intend to give that will complement the high quality teachings in the classroom because we know that building fancy schools and training teachers and putting furniture in the schools sometimes is not enough to reach individual needs. We want people to… have a better quality of life,” Minister Manickchand said.
The Minister also disclosed that her Ministry is looking to provide all textbooks needed by students but there has been a bit of challenge. She added that because different schools use different textbooks, in some cases, her Ministry is looking to have that standardized while still allowing the freedom to teachers as they teach.
Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha, during his visits, reiterated his government’s commitment to provide the $15,000 cash grant. He highlighted that by the year 2025, every child will receive $50,000 annually. This, he said, is added to the $4,000 school voucher.
“I am happy that we have increased this by 100 %. Next year, we will have more benefits to the Guyanese people. By 2025, every child will receive $50,000 annually,” the Minister said.
Voucher distributions have also commenced in other regions.

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