17,000 private school children to get “Because We Care” cash grant – President Ali

…$3.3B already distributed to 175,000 children in public school system

At least 17,000 children who are attending private schools across Guyana will soon benefit from Government’s “Because We Care” cash grant, which initially was available to public schools.

The greenlight to roll out the initiative to private school students was granted by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday. This came on the heels of parents of children attending private schools expressing strong support for the programme to be extended to them.
“The decision to extend the programme to private schools will see an additional $320 million distributed to the parents of some 17,000 children. This is on top of the $3.3 billion already distributed to the parents of the more than 175,000 students attending public schools,” a release from the President’s Office stated.
Under the “Because We Care” programme, cash grants totalling $19,000 are given to the parents of each child attending school, to provide support to parents in procuring school supplies.
“The programme enjoys widespread popularity, but was discontinued by the APNU/AFC while they were in office. It has since been reinstated by the PPP/C upon their return to office, and the amount of the grant (has been) increased to a total of $19,000 per student,” the release added.

However, President Ali has instructed that work commence immediately to make the payout to all eligible parents.
Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, back in July, had stated that consideration is being given to extend the initiative to students in the private school system.
“We are actively examining now the possibility of extending the grant to kids going to private schools. Maybe not all of them will take, but some parents have been making the solid case that they struggle at home to send their kids to private schools. It’s not as though they’re rich. And in a way, those kids who go to private schools, they take some pressure off public schools in terms of space. So, the Government will consider all the facts on the issue and we’ll make a determination very, very soon on the matter,” Jagdeo has stated.
During that interview, the Vice President has also stated that Education Minister Priya Manickchand was in the process of gathering the number of children in the private school system.
“…they’re trying to verify the numbers and then to see, should we extend to kids going to private schools, how we’re going to ensure that the intended beneficiaries receive the money without any leakage or corruption,” he posited.
Government commenced the rollout of the “Because We Care” cash grant programme in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) in July last, with many parents of public-school students praising the initiative and saying it would greatly help in assisting them to ensure that their children’s needs are fulfilled.
But some parents took to social media to question the move by the Government to only give the cash grants to those children who attend public schools.
In fact, back in 2020, just after the PPP/C Administration took office, Education Minister Priya Manickchand, during a press conference, had stated that discussions were still in the pipeline on whether the “Because We Care” cash grant initiative would be open to private school students.
Manickchand had agreed that some parents are facing difficulties in sending their children to private institutions, and Government was not opposed to providing the grant, which is meant specifically to those attending public school. But almost one year later, it appears as though no decision has been taken on this.
The “Because We Care” project was launched back in 2014 under the then PPP/C Government. It was implemented to provide support to parents with school-age children, and increases their disposable income to raise enrolment and attendance rates.
After taking office in 2015, however, the APNU/AFC Government scrapped the project, saying the treasury cannot afford to continue with the programme.
But the Irfaan Ali-led Government restored the initiative after taking office last year – a promise the PPP/C had made in its 2020 election campaign manifesto.
As such, in the $383 billion National Budget passed in March 2021, some $60.7 billion was allocated for the education sector. In keeping with its manifesto, the PPP/C Administration increased the “Because We Care” cash grant from $10,000 to $15,000. The party has promised a phased increase of the cash grant to $50,000 per child by the end of its five-year tenure in office.