The Education Ministry has no plans of conducting a means test to determine how the ‘Because We Care’ school cash grants were used, but a child’s attendance in school has been regarded as a prime criterion for eligibility.
Education Minister, Priya Manickhand told media operatives on Monday that taking model from Latin American countries, one of the requirements implemented was attendance in school. A few persons were denied the grant after it was found that their children were not attending school.
The cash grant saw children registered in nursery, primary, and secondary public and private schools receiving a $40,000 grant.
“Some of the Latin American countries have linked cash grants to attendance and vaccinations, whether people have been vaccinated and so on. We have looked at the various things and in fact, last year, we said to be eligible you had to be on the register and attending school.”
“We had a couple of people who were not eligible and got denied the grant because it is meant for an assistance to get your kid back into school,” Minister Manickchand divulged.
When asked whether the Ministry would be conducting a means test, she noted that this process can be heavily flawed. In the end, the Minister contended that if a parent spends the money in a way that benefits the child or makes their life more comfortable, it is considered a win.
“No means test. I have means-tested things in the past and the country has a sordid past with means-testing. I am not comfortable with that…so there will be no means-testing…”
Minister Manickchand also contended that the programme should not be scrapped because of a few delinquents.
“If you’re looking for it black and white ‘did you go and buy socks and shoes?’, you will find that some people did; a lot of people. Some people invested.”
“In any kind of programme this large, you’re going to find one or two delinquents. Do you let your programme get informed by delinquents or do you let your programme get informed by the mass good that it does?” she questioned.
In 2021, Government reintroduced the cash grant distribution for school-aged children, as per its manifesto promise. The distributions at that time saw each child benefitting from $19,000— $15,000 from the “Because We Care” grant and $4000 from their uniform vouchers.
In 2022, the Government increased the “Because We Care” cash grant amount from $15,000 to $25,000, and the uniform voucher from $4000 to $5000. This meant that each child went from receiving $19,000, to $30,000. It was also opened for all private school students as well.
This year, it was increased to $40,000. The goal is to increase it to $50,000 before the 2025 elections.
