Education Ministry launch $10,000 Cash Grant initiative

Georgetown: The Ministry of Education announced that the distribution of the Government of Guyana $10,000 Cash Grant will be launched on Saturday, October 11.

Families and parents are asked to pay close attention to the distribution schedule along with the list of distribution sites, which will be published weekly in the newspapers to ensure that they do not miss their opportunity to uplift their Government of Guyana Because We Care $10,000 Cash grant.

ELIGIBILITY

1. The only eligibility criteria required to benefit from the BECAUSE WE CARE cash grant program is that a student must be on the register of a public school.
2. Every class in every school across Guyana was asked to submit a list of the students on their current 2014/2015 Register.
3. Head teachers were instructed to verify the lists submitted by their class teachers.
4. Regional Education Officers were instructed to further verify those lists submitted by schools in their region.
5. The Ministry of Education therefore shall be constrained to distribute vouchers only to parents/guardians of children who appear on the list compiled by the school and submitted to Central Ministry, except as provided in paragraphs 6,7,8 and 9 immediately following.
6. The Ministry’s policy is to accept children into school anytime that they appear and express an interest once they are within the age range.

Regional Education Officers have said to the Ministry that since the submission to Central Ministry of the list of eligible students, new children have been enrolled and will now be on the register. This year has seen even larger numbers of late registration than before because of the promise of the BECAUSE WE CARE 10,000 dollar cash grant. These children would therefore be entitled under the eligibility criteria laid out.

7. Additionally, the Ministry is aware that due to inadvertence and/or negligence of teachers, head-teachers and/or education officers, some lists that were submitted have excluded the names of children who are presently enrolled in school and therefore eligible to receive this BECAUSE WE CARE grant.
8. The Government is of the considered view that these children should not suffer for the failures/inadvertence of adults, whether that failure/inadvertence caused their non – registration or exclusion from the list.
9. Therefore, every child on the school’s Register who is registered any date prior to the 10th October 2014, will be entitled to receive the BECAUSE WE CARE 10,000 dollar cash grant. At the distribution venues, a separate register will be taken of any child who is registered but not on the list supplied to the Ministry. Information such as the name of the child, name of the school, head-teacher’s name, contact information of the parents/guardians, reason for the child not being on the list supplied to the Ministry of Education etc. will be taken. This information will be verified and the BECAUSE WE CARE 10,000 dollar voucher will later be delivered to the home of the child by the relevant Head – teacher, teacher and Regional Education Officer.

What is needed to receive the grant?

• Parents/Guardians would have to present themselves at the scheduled distribution venue.
• The parents/guardians receiving the BECAUSE WE CARE voucher shall have to present a valid means of identification. Identification (I.D) cards, passports, drivers licenses are all acceptable.
• The parent/guardian receiving the BECAUSE WE CARE voucher would be asked to sign or mark a document indicating that they have received a voucher.
• To en-cash the BECAUSE WE CARE voucher, the person who is desirous of en-cashing will have to attend to any Western Union/Bill Express across Guyana, offer required information and present a valid Identification document. Identification cards, passports, driver’s licenses are all acceptable.

What do you need to do?

Note the location and time on the schedule:

Look at the television or newspapers, Ministry’s website: www.education.gov.gy or Ministry’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MinistryofEducationGuyana and the Guyana Learning Channel to find out when and where you need to go to in order to uplift your child’s BECAUSE WE CARE 10,000 dollar voucher.

2. Have your identification documengt (National Id Card, PP, dL)
3. Uplift your Because we Care voucher:
4. Go to any Western Union/Bill Express location to en-cash your Because we Care Cash Grant.
5. Collect your money.

Persons are asked to not that vouchers will NOT be left at the school for distribution and/or receipt on any other day than that which is scheduled and advertised.  If a parent/guardian misses the scheduled delivery date, and wishes to benefit from the program, that parent/guardian will have to attend the Regional Education Office to uplift the voucher on another date to be announced later.

 BACKGROUND

The cash grant initiative was announced by Hon. Dr Ashni Singh during the presentation of budget 2014. As explained by the Minister of Finance this program is meant to provide more support to parents with school age children and increase the disposable income of parents with school age children with a view to raising enrollment and attendance rates. This is in fact the first program of its kind in the Caribbean and indeed anywhere else in this part of the world where every public school child is entitled to this benefit.

Cognisant of Article 13 of the Constitution of Guyana, which recommends inclusionary democracy and because of the Government’s deep commitment to making decisions based on the desires of the people of Guyana, the Ministry of Education engaged in consultations all across Guyana to hear from Guyana’s parents what systems they believe would serve them best.

More than 55 public consultations were held where the following questions were examined  whether parents would prefer to be able to receive cash or exchange a voucher for goods in the manner that the uniform voucher program is currently operated; and If en- cashing were the preferred option, which service would parents prefer to use to be able to en-cash their vouchers (choices ranged from the Banks, Mobile Money, Western Union/Bill Express, the Post Office, Moneygram.

Almost unanimously parents chose to receive cash as opposed to goods and an overwhelming majority chose to be able to en-cash at Western Union/Bill Express money services. Where, geographically, there is a limitation of financial services different arrangements shall be made.