SCORES of pre-service teachers enrolled at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in Region Two, on Tuesday, breathed a sigh of relief when they collected their stipends after a 12-month wait.

The distribution exercise was held in the boardroom of the Department of Education at Cotton Field and was overlooked by several senior officers of the Ministry of Education.

The ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary of Finance, Juliana Latchman, told the Guyana Chronicle that the trainees received a “lump sum” payment as monies for several months were outstanding.

She said the exercise was an ongoing one in every region and will see many trainee teachers benefitting.

Meanwhile, many of the trainee teachers welcomed the payout, noting that it would help to offset some of the debt they have incurred over the last year.

Anup Singh of Affiance said that he started classes at the college in 2021 and it was the first payment he had received.

He said that he had incurred a lot of expense, particularly to purchase data for online classes which required access to high-speed internet.

Singh explained that the internet service in the region was very poor and that had resulted in the need for the purchase of data to ensure that he didn’t miss any of his classes.

The young trainee teacher also related that he had to incur the cost of travelling to the college’s campus at Cotton Field on several occasions for physical classes.

Reya Ramlall, a resident of Bounty Hall said that she received money for “9 months” and while it may seem like a lot, she will have to use it to repay her parents for the sums she had borrowed.

Ramlall told this publication that because of the lack of lecturers at the college in Region Two, she has had to travel to Georgetown to attend classes.

She used the opportunity to extend gratitude to the Ministry of Education for speeding up the payment process so that she and her fellow trainees could have money to support themselves while attending the college.

“It’s not much. We have to travel and get things done; however, I am thankful that it happened fast and we can all get our stipend and be able to support ourselves,” another trainee said.

The trainees expressed hope that they will receive prompt payments in the future.