Dear Editor,
PLEASE permit me space in your newspaper to respond to a statement that was made by PPP/C Chief Whip and MP Ms Gail Teixeira on the television programme, “Matters of Public Importance” on September 12, 2019 on CNS Channel 6. There, she stated that, “President Granger removed the cash grant from schoolchildren.”

Ms Teixeira should be ashamed to remind the nation that the APNU+AFC government has halted the $10,000 per child grant. The “Because we care” school grant which was an initiative under the previous PPP/C administration was a one-off political gimmick with the intention of enhancing the PPP/C’s electoral chances in the 2015 elections. However, the initiative was badly implemented and it was “fiscally unsustainable.”

The APNU+AFC Government has delivered significantly to Guyana’s education sector much more than the PPP/C did. Investing billions in the sector since taking office in 2015, the government has increased its annual contributions to various areas of education, which is clearly shown in the yearly budgetary allocation beginning from 2016. In that year, a sum of $40.3B was given to the Ministry of Education. In 2017, another $43.1B was allocated. A total of $44.1B and $52.3B was pumped into the same sector, in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The move by the current administration has benefited thousands, providing them with better opportunities for achieving a brighter future. This is a commitment by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and by extension the government.

President David Granger’s Five Bs Initiative providing boats, buses, bicycles, breakfast and books to students across Guyana also aided in many successes. Under this programme, children in hinterland, riverine and targeted communities are now benefiting from the provision of buses, boats, bicycles, books and breakfasts, all free of charge. The Five Bs Programme has improved students’ access to schools and lowered the rate of school dropouts.

Editor, the president’s Five Bs Programme has had a positive impact on education, much more than what the PPP/C-offered $10,000 to Guyanese children, since primary school dropouts fell by 58% and secondary school dropouts fell by 25%. Through this Five Bs Programme these schoolchildren can now enjoy having breakfast every morning in schools if their parents are unable to provide them with breakfast. Through this programme we can clearly see that the government is improving the lives of school- children 10 times more than the PPP/C did with the $10,000 cash grant because these are not one-off initiatives.

The PPP/C by now should take several seats when it comes to the coalition government and education since Guyana has recorded a 73% overall pass rate in grades one to three at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. This is the best performance the country has seen with 11,467 students who wrote the exams.
In closing, education is the vehicle to success and the children are our future. Without doubt, the APNU+AFC is committed to ensuring that education will continue to be placed as first priority under the David Granger administration.
Yours sincerely
Ceion Rollox