The Government of Grenada has officially launched its school uniform and transportation assistance programme for the 2016-2017 school year. The programme is designed to support the most needy and vulnerable children within the communities.
Minister for Implementation, Alexandra Otway-Noel explained that the programme, which is executed under the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, started in 2013 and has been very successful so far.
She stated that this year $1 million have been budgeted for the programme, noting that over one thousand vouchers have been processed. Vouchers will be valid until September 30th 2016. The minister said the programme’s ultimate aim is to assist with the financial challenges of unemployed and low-income families in providing the basic uniform and supplies for the nation’s students.
Senior Administration Officer in the Prime Minister’s Office Naomi Jeremiah said for 2016, there is a shift in the amount of funds that is allocated to the primary and secondary students. She said that last year a total of $641,000.00 was spent for the programme; $50.00 was given to primary school students and $100.00 to secondary school students. However, this year government has decided to increase the amount from $50.00 to $100.00 per student to the primary school students and from $100.00 to $150.00 to the secondary school student. A maximum of $400.00 will be available to eligible vulnerable households.