30,000 Amerindian and hinterland children to benefit
WHAT started out as a programme to benefit mainly rural areas, the Government’s School Uniform Assistance Programme is now benefitting thousands of children in Amerindian and hinterland communities, as the administration continues to work in closing the education gap between the coastland and the hinterland.
Students from the nursery, primary and secondary levels are now benefitting from the uniform assistance which this year will cost the People’s Progressive Party (PPP/C) Administration $300M to outfit about 200,000 children.

Of that sum, $63.2M has been spent on materials for children in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9, and will benefit over 30,000 students.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai and a team from the ministry visited several Amerindian communities in Region 9 from June 22 to 24, to oversee the distribution of school uniform material and to generally listen to residents’ concerns.
Minister Sukhai and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Collin Croal, visited communities including St. Ignatius, Kumu, Moco Moco and Nappi, where the uniform material was handed over to head teachers, and in some cases, the villages’ respective toshaos.
Minister Sukhai, in her address to hundreds of residents and students gathered at the various schools for the launch of the programme, informed them that development is a long process, but in Guyana it has been happening consistently as government continues to invest in all sectors, thus creating a better country for its people.
“Over the years, more and more Amerindians are being trained in various fields, such as education, agriculture and health, and as a government, investment in our human resources has always been paramount in our priorities,” Minister Sukhai said.
These investments, Minister Sukhai said, start with the nation’s children, who are the future of the country.
The extension of the school feeding programme, school uniform programme, annual scholarship opportunities, and subsidies for learning material and examination fees are just some of government’s intervention for affording hinterland children the opportunities of an education, despite their geological locations.
“There should be no excuse for children to stay at home or parents to make excuses that their children don’t have uniforms or cannot afford a snack, particularly at the nursery and primary levels,” Minister Sukhai said.
In the hinterland and Amerindian areas, 3,585 children will benefit at the nursery level, 19,993 at the primary level, and 6502 at the secondary level.
Minister Sukhai also noted that $19.5M from the total sum was spent on procuring material for Region Nine which will benefit 38 nursery, 48 primary and 5 secondary schools.
Contracts for the sewing of uniforms, she noted, will be awarded to residents of the respective villages, at a cost of $600 each.
“When you look at the millions of dollars invested for procurement of materials, transportation and sewing of the uniform …we expect that our children give back to our country the commitment to do even better every year at their studies,” Minister Sukhai said.
Today, hinterland communities across Guyana can boast of universal access to nursery and primary education. Government continues to invest in the construction of more secondary schools as well in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9. These are being built with dormitory facilities to meet the needs of the increasing number of students who are now accessing secondary education, including those at Sand Creek, St. Ignatius, Annai, Aishalton, Waramadong, Port Kaituma, Mabaruma and Paramakatoi.
This year, $24.3B has been allocated to the continued successful implementation of the National Education Strategic Plan in 2011. Training, infrastructural development, and the school feeding and uniform assistance programmes are among the major aspects. (GINA)