More than a hundred persons have supported the Ministry of Education’s decision to withhold monies from students who do not return the school’s textbooks. This was shown in a social media poll done by MTV News Update on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Education (MoE), in a memo dated June 6, 2022, said that only parents/ guardians who return textbooks loaned to students would be eligible for the $30,000 ‘Because We Care Cash’ grant.
In light of these developments, MTV News Update used its Facebook page to get the opinions of parents who have children attending school and are eligible for the $30,000 cash grant.
Monica Sukhdeo, a parent, said, “Yes, I think they should return the books before getting their cash grants. This will make the children and guardians more responsible too.”
Prabha Farinha said, “We as parents have to set the example for our children to follow. The school lent us, which means we MUST return.”
“They should return the books before receiving their cash grants… this is not a [new] thing. I had five children in school, and this started since around 2012 when my son wrote CXC; I had to return all the textbooks before uplifting his CXC results, Maria Jeffers stated.
A few individuals disagreed with this requirement, noting that textbooks should not take away money from the students.
One parent stated, “give the children what belongs to them; people going through too much deprivation.”
The memo issued by the Education Minister made it clear that each parent/guardian must return the textbooks to the respective schools on or before July 7, 2022.
