Education Ministry extends school uniform and supplies voucher programme

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, yesterday announced that her Ministry has decided to extend the school uniform and supplies voucher programme.

Manickchand said that the extension gives parents more time to utilize the vouchers at stores, it also gives all authorized vendors, and stores more time to redeem the vouchers at the Ministry of Education’s Georgetown Office, 21 Brickdam.

The new deadline dates, according to the Education Minister, is January 9 for parents and January 15 for authorized vendors and stores.

More than 160,000 children in the public school system all across Guyana, were set to receive the uniform and school supplies voucher valued at $4,000 to assist with the purchasing of their school supplies and uniforms for the new school term. This amounted to about $650 million in vouchers being distributed.

The value of the voucher was previously $2,000; however, at a press conference in September, President Irfaan Ali had announced the increase to $4,000. He had also announced that ‘Because We Care’ cash grant would be restored and increased to $15,000 from $10,000.

“This, of course, will bring tremendous help to families, to parents and to children by which time they will hopefully be returning to school under the improved situation we have now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, we would double the uniform voucher allowance to $4,000 per child,” President Ali had said.

source:https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/