School Transfer Grant a must for those in need – Saint Jean

Saint Jean has guaranteed support for less fortunate families
Saint Jean has guaranteed support for less fortunate families

Education Minister, Petter Saint Jean, has stated categorically that no child in need should be denied the School Transfer Grant.

Through Government’s recently introduced School Transfer Grant programme, hundreds of needy parents have received assistance from Government to assist with the purchase of school uniforms and text books.

The Minister expounded on the necessity of the school grant when he addressed a press conference called by the Education Trust Fund this week.

“We pay the transfer grant on average $400,000 every year to roughly 800 students. Usually we have 1,000 plus students who write the Grade Six National Assessment Exams,” he said.

The minister said the government is of the view that once a family is deserving of the assistance, then it will be granted.

He added that the unfortunate financial situation of some has resulted in parents not being able to sufficiently provide for their children’s educational needs.

Recognizing this reality, the Minister has guaranteed Government’s continued support to these less fortunate families.

The minister went on to explain examples of special circumstances which could result in a student being approved to receive the School Transfer Grant.

“Let me be clear, that a child may get a scholarship and could still receive the transfer grant because of the peculiar circumstances of that student,” Saint Jean stated. “Of course, there are some individuals who may not receive the transfer grant, however no child is written out as far as the transfer grant is concerned. We facilitate all because we believe that once you are worthy of the assistance you should get it.”

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development over the years has established several safety net programmes aimed at assisting less advantaged families to ensure that all students have equal access to a well- balanced and high quality of education.

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17 Comments

  1. BIG
    May 26, 2014

    STUPES

  2. benjo
    May 25, 2014

    Keep doing your. Thing mr. Peter :lol: joseph

  3. Get this !
    May 25, 2014

    This confirms the state of the economy in Dominica. Open your eyes people.

    People are poor in Dominica. Govt trying to provide every thing since they know they have failed the people.

    Pack up, and get the HELL out. Let thinkers move in to move this country forward.

    Then these guys tell us that the country is doing well? country doing well and people can’t afford school uniforms? country doing well?

    Dominicans, this proof. The country is in a bad state. All this govt is doing is putting band aid on the worms of dominica instead of strategizing ways to heal the worms ..

  4. Money Worries
    May 24, 2014

    I feel your pain, St. Jean. But a fool and his salary will soon depart. Good bye party coming soon. You just wasted the your time in the constituency.

  5. Intellect
    May 24, 2014

    $400 000 among 800 recipients is $2 000 on average per recipient….. That does not sound right to me. If you are helping people who are helpless, you can help at least 2 people with that $2 000. From those numbers, a true help for real needy people, or people who are not just sitting there waiting to climb up ministry steps for handout would be helped a long way with half of that This $400 000 should be helping at least 1600 people. A little bit for all. That is how people abuse the system, when they feel they can get a large share for themselves, therefore have no incentive to be self sufficient.

  6. Nostalgia
    May 23, 2014

    Come on teacher Peter you know better than that. Why do parents have to depend on the government for hand outs to send their children to school? Your parents and my parents did not have to do that. They depended on agriculture to help pay for their children school, i remember as a child cleaning kannel in Laplaine to help pay for my school supplies. You and your government have Dominican soooo poor that they can’t move without handouts? Shame on you guys.

  7. notfooled
    May 23, 2014

    i thought everyone of the grade six children were entitled to that grant? is politics now playing a hand in it? well God help those of us who do not support this government policies. my child will go to school with or without that grant. IT IS TAXPAYERS MONEY PEOPLE NOT PETER’s or pm’s.

  8. truth
    May 23, 2014

    The schools should be involved in dishing out this fund, why is the palimentry representatives who are responsible, thats why they give it to their supporters .Transparence Hon. St. Jean

  9. labourd
    May 23, 2014

    just poli shows nothing new

  10. ?????????
    May 23, 2014

    St jean seems to be making a noisier exit than mattthew walters…..

  11. Francisco Telemaque
    May 23, 2014

    “Through Government’s recently introduced School Transfer Grant programme, hundreds of needy parents have received assistance from Government to assist with the purchase of school uniforms and text books.”(Petter).

    Impressive Petter, very impressive to your ear!

    Nevertheless, to those of us who remembers Dominica in the good old days remember that as poor as the people were, they always managed to buy, books, uniforms, pay their school dues, and feed their children while they attended Secondary, and elementary school. No government in the history of Dominica ever under took the responsibility to give money away students.

    While you boast, believing that you are impressing Dominicans, that the Labor Party care about the welfare of these students, all you have done is simply confirm the cries of the people proved to the nation that Dominica is worst off under the Labor Party in the twenty-first century, than it was in the era of the late 1940’s into the late 1970’s.

    Indeed Dominicans are much poorer in the year 2014 than we were in the 1920’s and 1940’s! You and the cabal has destroyed Dominica, causing our people to live as beggars. The last time I visited Dominica, I met a man I knew, I am not going to say in what country I knew him. He however returned to Dominica to help “build” Dominica; you know, you all are always trying to influence people in the diaspora, to return, home and build Dominica! What happened to this man; his name if Fagan, he returned, and found himself on the streets of Roseau as bigger! This is a man if he is yet alive is a professional tailor, he used to make my designer cloths.

    He could not even practice his trade in Dominica, because most Dominicans cannot afford to buy raw materials to sow into shirts andpants; he might be dead now because the last time I met him in Dominica begging in the Streets, he had throat cancer. How long shall the population of Dominica remain wards of the State, dependent on not even legal welfare; handouts is what it is, no one can based their life on handouts, one cannot build a home on handouts.

    Shut up man, just shut up, you all are a bunch of waste of time incompetent people whom has destroyed the country economically. Where are the private sector jobs Petter? Where are our industries? Boy, I reiterate if Dominicans vote for you all next election, the world will be convinced that something unnatural is wrong with our peoples’ mind; this should be it!

    Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque

  12. Zenai
    May 23, 2014

    I really do not understand that school transfer grant , not at all. i understand , since your name is on the common entrance list , you are entiled to that grant. if you are in need you are entiled to that grant. There are those who are not in need and receive such grant and those who are denied of that grant because his /her parent works with the Government and that child is denied of such grant.
    What really is going on in this country? That is why, i will not vote .
    That school transfer grant is just not being disbursed FAIRLY.
    I want the Ministry of Education to monitor that school transfer grant it is not being done FAIRLY AND PROFESSIONALLY.

  13. change is a must
    May 23, 2014

    Things have really change in Dominica. growing up as a child my father was a farmer. He never relied on government assistant to send us to school. We all went to post secondary school not once were we short of school supplies nor uniform. Today parent have to depend on government assistance in order for their children to get a proper education. what does that say about the country? needs answer please.

    • May 23, 2014

      AND REMEMBER SCHOOL was not free.One had to pay every quarter or every month

  14. mango
    May 23, 2014

    So long M asking for a help for my child who studying in the state of America they think that am a uwp that’s why they don’t whant to help me.

    • Intellect
      May 24, 2014

      That’s not what the grant is for mam. Go and take a loan AID bank… You want to send child in the big AMERICA to study….pull out your big moula…..

  15. Efficatious
    May 23, 2014

    Mr. Cen JEAN You are wasting too much money for children education with no garantee that they all are willing to learn.Some of the schools should go private so that,those who want a good education will pay.They leave school not knowing how to ask or apply in order to achieve something.Seating on a chair at school does not mean they are learning.back to basic

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