Mechanics of grant to parents of schoolchildren still unsettled

Mechanisms are not in place for the handing out of $10,000 grants to parents with children in public schools according to Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, “but the Ministry is presently working on making sure our children receive this benefit.”

Manickchand was on Wednesday responding to two oral questions posed by APNU Chief Whip Amna Ally in the National Assembly.

The questions sought to find out, what mechanisms will be employed by the Ministry to disburse the monies announced in this year’s budget and also when these monies will be distributed.

Ally told the house that as a result of a conversation between herself and Manickchand, the Minister has asked for three weeks to be able to work out the mechanics. “Maybe in three weeks we can have the questions reappearing on the order paper,” Ally said.

Meanwhile, Manickchand said that the challenge relates to the fact that there are more than 188,000 students across Guyana. “…For us to reach all efficiently we would like some time to examine all of the possible facilities that are available to us…Once we know what is best given our consultations with the private sector as well as conversations with parents I would be happy to share that immediately,” she said.

In April, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh in his 2014 budget presentation had said that an annual cash grant of $10,000 will be provided to the parents of every child attending a nursery, primary or secondary school in the public system. Many critics have since said that the grant was not enough as it was less than $1000 monthly.