Distribution of education cash grant to commence August 2
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

MINISTER of Education, Priya Manickchand, said that the distribution of the $25,000 “Because We Care” cash grant and $5,000 uniform voucher will begin across the country on August 2.
Minister Manickchand, in a post on her Facebook page, said distribution of the grant, which will benefit learners from both public and private schools, will commence early so as to give parents adequate time to purchase school supplies for their children.

“The PPP/C believes you deserve this money and we will give you this grant in the first week in August. Because We Care,” the minister said.
Minister Manickchand said: “We shall share the first grant for this year, in the sum of $30,000 on the 2nd day of August. And now all private school children are also entitled.”

It was only last year that the government extended the initiative to private school learners, after initially implementing it for children in public schools.
This year’s total assistance of $30,000 is a marked increase from the $19,000 “Because We Care” cash grant and the school uniform and supplies grant that was given out last year.

Amounting to an additional $2.2 billion, the education cash grant is part of the $74.4 billion budget for the education sector this year.
The “Because We Care” cash grant and uniform voucher are part of welfare measures being implemented by the government to put more disposable income into the hands of parents, and increase school attendance of learners, particularly those disadvantaged because their parents could not always afford the basic necessities.

The government, in its manifesto, had promised that, by 2025, each child will receive $50,000.
The “Because We Care” project started in 2014 under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government and saw parents receiving cash grants of $10,000 per child in the public school system.

However, when the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) assumed office in 2015, the party discontinued the grant. When the PPP/C returned to government in 2020, they upheld their promise to restore the grant and increase it.

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