School grants “hitting the nail on its head” for hinterland needs – Head Teachers

Immediate and important needs of schools within the hinterland are now being addressed with the newly-introduced school grants, where it is no longer a case of square pegs in round holes.
As the distribution kicked off in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), Head Teachers from various schools underscored that they will no longer have a surplus of materials which are not needed, while other critical items remain in deficit.

Terrence Brash, Head Teacher of Arapaima Primary lauded this move by the Education Ministry as a gamechanger, adding that it is “hitting the nail on its head”.
“This programme is hitting the nail on the head because most times, teachers cry of materials for teaching and class development. This programme will change the whole setting of teaching. It will allow teachers to be more objective with their planning and they would have materials in their hand,” the Head Teacher shared.
Meanwhile, Head Teacher of Sand Creek Secondary, Sharon Williams highlighted that due to the remoteness of the hinterland, it is necessary to be prepared.
“This initiative for me is a good one because it’s the hinterland. At Sand Creek, we have difficulty getting stuff. This initiative will enable students, especially those in the dorms, to have the resources available to them.”
Williams noted that with these resources, the school can expand its capacity to offer business subjects. New equipment will also be sourced for science and sports subjects.

She added, “We’ve also added some more science subjects to our curriculum with Chemistry and Physics. That is going to help them as well. We can get some more chemicals and some more materials such as cricket balls, volleyballs for sports…I know my PE teacher is going to smile broadly when I say I have more money to purchase some stuff.”
Head Teacher of Wowetta Primary, Judette Moses also detailed, “We now have the opportunity to make our own purchases. In my school, I have a lot of chalk, materials and items that my school would not need. This initiative is a great one.”
For many years, the Ministry has received complaints from teachers and parents alike that enough independence had not been given in the identification of needs of a classroom and procurement of products or services. In fact, teachers themselves would have to expend their own salaries to change that reality.

On the other hand, parents have complained that they were being asked daily to provide bleach, toilet paper, crayons and to pay for test papers – a bill that would make it unaffordable to send their kids to school.
Traditionally, budgets would be provided by Central Government for the purchase of janitorial and office supplies. There was no standardisation of how these monies were spent over the years with different regions doing different things.
An evaluation found that the former processes were either cumbersome or failed to meet the needs of the schools. A common example was that buying in bulk invoked the public bidding process because of the large sums being expended, which inevitably led to goods reaching schools very late. It also failed to meet the individual demands of classrooms.
In August, the Education Ministry announced that a value would be applied per child. On the coastland, it was $4000 per child and in the hinterland, $5500 per child.
It was announced at each distribution that the school would have to retain a percentage and the teachers would be given a percentage of the said money.
From feedback, the Education Minister shared that in some primary schools, Head Teachers have given teachers their individual sums while in others, the teachers have chosen to have the money treated as a bulk sum. The Ministry has allowed autonomy on how to run the programme within the confines of remaining accountable and not breaching financial or criminal laws.
It has been clearly outlined that the sums distributed must be fully accounted for. Receipts that are visible and authentic of purchases would be required and must be submitted as this programme will be fully audited.