Ministry disburses $20m for school supplies, book grants

THE Education Ministry has disbursed a total of $20 million in payments for school supplies and book grants.

In a statement on September 6, the ministry said, "This amount has been allocated for both direct-deposit transactions to banks and cheque collections."

The ministry added that it had received a total of 26,967 applications and approved 23,345 in the qualifying and verification process.

While working to complete payments for outstanding applicants, the ministry said, several challenges affected the process. These included incorrect bank account numbers, closed accounts and multiple children being listed on a single application form, contrary to the instructions, which required separate forms for each child.

The ministry said some payments were returned to it because of incorrect banking information.

Staff at the ministry also had difficulty in reaching some applicants via e-mail and phone calls to verify the necessary details.

As a result, it said it was unable to facilitate these applicants before the processing period ended. The application process for school supplies and book-grant distribution began on April 9 and closed on April 26.

The minister said, "This initiative is designed to address the financial challenges faced by parents/guardians in acquiring essential supplies, for the successful commencement of the students’ academic year."