“Because We Care” cash grant distribution to begin in May

The Education Ministry is set to roll out its annual “Because We Care” cash grant initiative in May and each school child, whether in public or private school, will receive $55,000.
This was announced by Education Minister Priya Manickchand during the commissioning of the state-of-the-art Practical Instruction Centre (PIC) in Hopetown, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice), at the cost of a whopping US$1,900,000.
While delivering the feature address, the Education Minister clarified that this grant will be given to every student and not every household.

“We have reinstated the “Because We Care” cash grant, and this year, every single child, beginning May 12th, will receive $55,000 as their grant. And notice I said every single child, not every single home. And all of you, the young ones who have children, will know that over the last four years, it has been the smoothest process.”
However, she revealed that there will be some slight changes in the process to facilitate the distribution of the cash grant in which the Ministry will be expanding the number of schools from which the money will be distributed.
“You come, once your children’s name are on the register. The only problem is we have a little bit of a line because there’s always somebody coming first and somebody coming last, and at the earliest stages, there’s always a line. If you come at two o’clock, you get to walk right up to your teacher’s desk…This year, we’re…expanding the number of schools. So, we’re not grouping schools. We’re going to have schools registered by the 28th of March this year,” she explained.
She added, “It’s going to be even less cumbersome with fewer numbers at the schools.”

Another PIC center
Meanwhile, the commissioning of the state-of-the-art PIC in Hopetown was made possible by the Guyana Skills Development and Employability Project, which was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in collaboration with the Government of Guyana and the Ministry of Finance.
The building is outfitted with new facilities and, in some cases, expanded retrofitting. For example, the existing Furniture Lab, is a retrofitted workshop.
This centre will offer seven Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) programmes: Graphic Arts, Commercial Food Preparation, Masonry, Plumbing, Electrical Installation, Housekeeping, and Furniture Making.

Speaking at the commissioning event was Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical) Dr Ritesh Tularam, who relayed that with this new institute, students will have 24-hour access to the Internet, which will aid them in completing their School Based Assessments.
“Beyond the facilities, tools, and equipment, students will have access to a state-of-the-art laboratory where they can have 24-hour access to the Internet, allowing them to complete their SBAs, create their portfolios, and print their assignments using the facility on-site,” he said.
He also mentioned that with this commissioning, the Ministry is on track to open four institutes, as another one is set to be commissioned soon.
“In total, inclusive of this one, there will be four PICs and PIDs (Practical Instruction Departments) that the Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana are moving forward with to provide opportunities for persons. I want to inform everyone here that before the end of this month, we will be commissioning the St Ignatius Practical Instruction Department, and that will be followed by the Bartica Practical Instruction Department,” he said.
Only last Thursday, the Education Ministry in conjunction with the Guyana Skills Development and Employability Project, with funding from the CDB, commissioned the new Beterverwagting PIC valued at $225 million.