No cash grant for children who do not return textbooks

Failure to return textbooks loaned to children will result in them being unable to access the $30,000 ‘Because We Care’ cash grant and uniform voucher, the Ministry of Education noted in a memorandum issued on Friday.

The memo was signed by Chief Education Officer Dr Marcel Hutson and details what parents/guardians can do in the event that the textbooks are lost or damaged. These are textbooks that were issued for the September 2021 – July 2022 academic year.

“The Ministry of Education wishes to advise that only parents/guardians who return textbooks loaned to students will be eligible for the ‘Because we Care’ cash grant,” the memo stated.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand in a Facebook post on Friday highlighted that the textbooks are needed for children who will be in the next class.

“Parents signed a contract to this effect when they collected the textbooks. My friends, the textbooks have helped tremendously in your children’s education. We need them for the next class,” the minister wrote.

The memo also listed several requirements for headteachers which include informing parents that all textbooks must be returned on or before Thursday, July 7, 2022.

Headteachers are also required to implement the following actions:

• Advise parents/guardians that in instances where loanded textbooks are lost or destroyed, parents will be given the option to buying or replace those textbooks
• Notify all parents/guardians that a fee of $5000 will be charged for each textbook lost or destroyed. This fee will apply to those parents who cannot replace lost or destroyed textbooks
• Inform parents/guardians that the schools will issue a slip statting that all textbooks have been returned
• Submit to the department of education on or before July 14, 2022, a list of names of students as per school and level, who have failed to return or pay for textbooks lost or destroyed.

The annual cash grant will commence distribution sometime in July.

Last year, the government began distributing all textbooks required to primary school children and starting this year, all secondary school students across the country will start to receive their textbooks.

Advertisement

_____