–starting in Regions Seven and Nine, Minister Manickchand says

MINISTER of Education, Priya Manickchand, on Tuesday, announced that distribution of the Because We Care cash grant and uniform voucher will commence on May 12, 2024 in Regions Seven and Nine.

The minister, during an invited comment on the sidelines of an event, said, in the following week, the Education Ministry will begin distributions in Regions Two and Five, and this will be replicated in other regions as the process progresses.

Minister Manickchand reminded parents of the eligibility criteria to receive the grant, noting: “The child must have been on the register… that the school would have provided that register that was verified a few times by the region, by our central ministry, by officers.”

Each child will be receiving a total of $55,000. According to the minister, of this amount, $50,000 is the Because We Care cash grant, and $5,000 is the uniform voucher.

At the start of this year, during national budget presentations, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, had announced that the Because We Care cash grant will be increased to $50,000 per student combined with the $5,000 uniform voucher for each student.

A total of $11 billion was set aside to fund this distribution to some 205,000 children across the country.

The cash grant has increased significantly over the past four years, from $19,000 in 2021, to $45,000 in 2024 and now $50,000. It was reintroduced by the PPP/C administration after the former coalition government had ceased the distribution of the grant.

Parents collecting these grants are required to walk with any form of identification- this means a passport, ID card, or a driver’s licence.

Minister Manickchand said if a parent does not have any of these forms of identification, he/she could have someone from his/her community or village (such as a head teacher or Toshao) assist in the verification process.

She added: “If you can’t make it to pick up the grant, then you can send an authorisation. We are going to be issuing what that should look like. This is an extremely smooth process. You would have to follow very carefully online on all our platforms and the newspapers when your region is going to be served and where each school will be served.”

The minister underscored that this year, the ministry has secured as many locations as possible for the distribution process.

She noted that they will try to do distributions in each school or in the school’s compound. Alongside this, the Manickchand related that they have the full co-operation of the police as well as private security services that would help with ensuring that this process is done safely.

She urged parents to remain calm and to pay attention to different media outlets as well as the ministry’s page to see when and where distributions will take place for each region and school.

The minister reassured citizens: “We are going to get to every single child before the beginning of school because we’re starting this to be able to do it in an effective way. But there’s a schedule, so you’re going to have to take your own responsibility and paying attention to see when it is coming to your region and where your child’s grant will be distributed.”