THE distribution of school uniforms for this year will commence on June 22, Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon announced yesterday. Speaking at his weekly post-cabinet press briefing, Luncheon said the planning for the distribution has already been completed and the date for commencement has been identified by Ministers Sheik Baksh and Priya Manickchand.
Speaking at the Office of the President, Luncheon said, “Cabinet noted that the exercise had grown from its fairly modest and restricted origins to encompass the entire school population, nursery, primary and secondary.”
Budget wise, he said more than $300M has been provided to attend to the needs of over 200,000 school children who are eligible to receive the benefit, he said.
The Uniform Programme began in 2001 and since then the Government has spent over $300M to assist children living in difficult circumstances with school uniforms.
This programme was started after it was found that school children were not attending school because their parents could not afford uniforms.
President Bharrat Jagdeo made this observation during outreaches conducted across the country and soon after the School Feeding and School Uniform programmes were initiated.
This voucher programme complements a similar outreach done by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs to ensure that all of Guyana’s children who are in need receive this assistance.
The vouchers are valued at $1,500 each and are a part of the Government of Guyana’s attempts to assist vulnerable groups, particularly women, children and disabled persons.
They can be exchanged at selected stores in the various regions for only school uniforms or school supplies.