| – points out ‘critical flaws’ of initiativeAttempts by the opposing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) to condemn a move by Government to review the ‘Because we Care’ $10,000 Cash Grant, has seen the Ministry of Education reacting with a fierce statement which seeks to highlight “critical flaws” associated with the initiative.The Ministry, headed by Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, listed what it described as “three critical flaws” with the cash grant approach none of which the former government saw fit to share with the general public.Topping the list is the fact,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, that there is no monitoring and evaluation mechanism built into the system to ensure either effective use of the grant, or actual impact on enrolment and attendance.This, according to the Ministry,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, means that there exists no plan to verify that the money was used as intended whether directly or incorporated into the budgeting for the child’s educational needs.As a result, the Ministry has concluded that there was no plan in place to measure whether the funds allocated resulted in increased enrollment and, more importantly,Cheap Soccer Jerseys, attendance.Secondly, the Ministry highlighted a point made earlier by Government that the grant is “inherently economically unsustainable” with hidden additional administrative costs, and disproportionate real costs such as security.According to the Ministry, based on its unaudited figures, 85 percent of the grant target was reached while 93 percent of the budget was expended. It was also taken into consideration that $92 million of the amount budgeted for was allocated presumably for administration of the grant.In addition, the Ministry has also underscored that “as executed, the project put tremendous strain on the existing human resource infrastructure of the Ministry of Education, resulting in lost man hours that should have been assigned to other tasks and lower efficiency in the way the Ministry functioned over the period of the disbursement.”With the Ministry aware of the foregoing state of affairs, it stressed its concern that the opposition’s disingenuous campaign in response to the government’s decision to review and very likely not renew the Education Cash Grant. The Ministry has also taken note of the fact, that the PPP/C had originally represented the grant as a means to boost flagging nursery to secondary enrollment, and poor student attendance under the previous administration.“As the then opposition, we supported the grant, via budgetary approval, on its professed merits as a one-off initiative intended to provide critical intervention into a significant problem in our education system,” detailed the Ministry statement.It added that its support was offered despite vibrant criticisms from several sections of the society that the programme appeared ill-conceived though ostensibly well-intended, and that it would turn out to be an electioneering gimmick on behalf of the then incumbent.“As evidenced by the kitsch branding of the grant with the ‘Because We Care’ slogan, and the mobilization of several senior Government officials for photo opportunities at disbursement centers in the months leading up to elections, the latter criticism was, in retrospect, not unfounded,” asserted the Ministry.Under the current administration, the priority for education development strategy is measurable, cost-effective service delivery with a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation to ensure that programmes result in tangible benefits to the young people within the public education system.However, the Ministry stressed that the central challenge of optimizing attendance and enrollment has to be overcome by a targeted programme aimed at meeting particular individual and community needs, as well as improving upon existing national initiatives, even as “we ensure value for money in service delivery.”Moreover, recommendations under active consideration by the Ministry includes the expansion and intensification of the school feeding programmes to include,NFL Jerseys China, for example, the provision of breakfast for targeted students. This is in light of the fact that the provision of meals has been a proven and tangible method of increasing or sustaining attendance preceding the previous administration.Under consideration, too, is the provision of transportation services for targeted student populations, particularly those in Hinterland and riverain communities. It was pointed out that with the help of the business community, for example, a 40-seater boat was recently procured to ferry children living along the Pomeroon River to and from school.The Ministry is also contemplating increasing the voucher value for the National Uniform Programme to more accurately reflect what has been ‘rising cost’ in related goods and services over the past few years. The Uniform Voucher currently amounts to $1,500 per public school child.Exploration of the establishment of a fund that will provide additional direct financial support for students in difficult circumstances is also being considered by the Ministry of Education. Also gaining the attention of the Ministry is the contextualization of education assistance within a holistic programme of poverty alleviation that includes a review of the taxation system and salary increase among other measures.“We cannot, as a government, afford to engage in grand fiscally unsustainably, irresponsible, politically expedient gimmicks when the core service of education remains under-served and public education teeters at the brink of a crisis.”It was also stressed that “deliberately emotive,NHL Jerseys From China, simplistic and misleading appeals on social media cannot be a substitute for effective policy analysis, particularly considering that the former minister is listed as a member of a parliamentary opposition that refuses to take its place in Parliament,Wholesale Jerseys, the proper forum for incisive, accurate, and recordable debate on policy issues.” |
