by Donella Hosten
Government’s School Uniform Assistance Programme under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Ministry has now been expanded to include pre-primary schoolers. The programme was originally spearheaded by the Ministry of Education in 2013, and only included primary and secondary school students from families considered to be low income and vulnerable.
During last week’s Post-Cabinet Briefing, Senator Winston Garraway, Minister responsible for Information and Disaster Management, announced government’s decision to include pre-school students, as part of the benefits of the success of Grenada’s Home Grown Structural Adjustment Programme.
Senior Administrative Officer in the Prime Minister’s Ministry, Naomi Jeremiah, said that in previous years, primary school students received vouchers for EC$50, while secondary students received EC$100 vouchers. Last year, EC$1.2 million was spent on 5,052 low-income families under the programme. Voucher allotments increased to EC$100, and EC$150 respectively.
Monies allotted for the 2017 uniform assistance are EC$50 per pre-primary student, EC$100 per primary school student and $150 per secondary school student. Qualifying households will be entitled to a total of EC $450 in assistance, to cover items on a dedicated uniform list, as well as minimum stationery items.
Jeremiah indicated that the programme began in May and ends in July, and vouchers should be made available to qualified households before this school term closes. She reminded that the deadline to present the vouchers to participating businesses is 30 September 2017.
Garraway said that as the school book programme is still onstream, the addition of the uniform assistance will help alleviate ‘vulnerable circumstances,’ for families ‘that deserve it.’