Guyana: Gov’t to give schoolchildren cash grants

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Education Minister Priya Manickchand Wednesday said that the government will begin the distribution of the GUY $45,000 (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) cash grant for school children across the country from next Monday.

She said more than 200,000 children from public and private schools will benefit from the “Because We Care”  initiative, which includes the school uniform and supplies voucher.

“This is a grant for public and private schools’ children who are in school. The eligibility criteria are that you have to be on the register, you had to be attending school and you had to return your text books to be able to access the grant. This is going to be happening all across Guyana over the two-week period for collection and distribution,” Manickchand, said during a live broadcast on her Facebook page,

The Education Minister explained that if parents or guardians are unable to uplift the grants on the scheduled date, they can visit their respective Regional Education Office to uplift the grant at a time that is convenient to them.

“It’s very smooth, it’s very transparent, it’s very open and every child who is entitled will benefit,” Manickchand said, reminding people to have in their possession the relevant identification documents, which include either a national identification card (ID) or a passport.

If a person cannot present a valid form of ID, one can provide a verification letter that has been verified by the school’s principal, village leader or Toshao.

“This is really easy. Just come get your grant so that you can get your children ready for September,” Manickchand said.

The Guyana government has committed to increasing the Because We Care Cash Grant incrementally each year until it reaches GUY$50,000 and the Auditor General’s office is expected to oversee the distribution of the cash grant in all of the regions.