ONLY parents or guardians who return textbooks loaned to learners by the Ministry of Education (MoE) will be eligible for the government’s education cash grant, according to a June 30 memorandum from the ministry.

The document, addressed to Regional Education Officers for all administrative regions and the Principal Education Officer for Georgetown, was shared by subject Minister, Priya Manickchand, to her Facebook page yesterday (Friday).

The textbooks, the release said, were distributed in the academic year which began in September 2021 and ended in July 2022.
“Parents signed a contract to this effect when they collected the text books. My friends, the text books have helped tremendously in your children’s education. We need them for the next class,” Minister Manickchand implored.

The memorandum, signed by the Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson, noted that Thursday, July 7 as the final day for returning the loaned textbooks.
Headteachers, the public document said, will be reminding parents and guardians of their commitment.

If the books are lost or damaged, however, caregivers “will be given the option of buying and replacing those textbooks”, the memo, identified as No. 17 of 2022, said.
Additionally, the memo said: “[A] fee of five thousand dollars ($5000) will be charged for each textbook lost or destroyed. This fee will apply to those parents who cannot replace lost or destroyed textbooks.”

Headteachers will submit a list to the Education Ministry which includes the names of learners whose parents defaulted on returning textbooks or who have not paid the requisite fee for damage or destruction of the books.
On the other hand, once the caregiver returns the loaned textbooks, the school administration will issue a document indicating that all textbooks have been returned thus granting clearance to that caregiver for uplifting the cash grant.
The $30,000 education cash grants will be distributed from late July, Minister Manickchand had said last month.