Over 200,000 public school students will benefit from the School-uniform Distribution Programme this year.
Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon explained at a press briefing yesterday that the Ministry of Education will “be more integrally involved” in the programme this year. Previously, it was the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Human Services.
The distribution process will commence in September; the beginning of the 2010 school year. Secondary, primary and nursery students will all be targeted, Luncheon said. He further noted that the 2010 programme builds on achievements and feedback from previous years.
In 2002, the Ministry of Education presented to Cabinet a paper seeking provision for school feeding and uniform assistance. This was approved and the first allocation of $31M was made.
The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs is granted part of the annual allocation to provide for the children of hinterland communities while the other aspect will be piloted by the Education Ministry this year. More than $370M has been spent on the programme since its implementation.
At the start of the year, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced new projects in the areas of infrastructural development, health and education.
These new projects included an $800M country-wide school-feeding programme to complement the School-uniform Distribution Programme.