BOOK GRANTS COMING 'SOON'

CCNTV6

The Trinidad and Tobago National Council of Parent Teacher Associations is today condemning the actions of the woman arrested yesterday for stealing thousands of dollars’ worth in school books.   The council says it was unfortunate and then called on the Ministry of Education to urgently release book grants to those who were selected in its book grant initiative.   In this story, reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh also gives us an update from the Minister of Education.

Transcript

00:00This is really unfortunate, but certainly it is an incident that the Trinidad and Tobago

00:07National Council of PTA totally condemns.

00:11President of the Trinidad and Tobago National Council of Parent Teacher Associations, Walter

00:16Stewart, on Sunday criticized the actions of a 33-year-old woman arrested for stealing

00:22school books on Saturday.

00:24But he says it brings into focus a bigger issue.

00:28Many of us are students who have bought, over the years, several textbooks costing exorbitant

00:34sums of money for our students, and many times when you look back after the first academic

00:38school year or so, the books are untouched, not even used.

00:42This, of course, is a waste of hard-earned dollars.

00:46In addition, there was a time when school books were handed down.

00:52He says there needs to be a clearer policy on textbooks.

00:55For now, he says the $1,000 book grant initiative by the Ministry of Education should be immediately

01:03distributed.

01:04We are really soliciting the urgent dispatch of these book grants to cover school books

01:11and school supplies, so that our parents, of course, who are in dire need, can be able

01:15to access these grants so that they can purchase their school books and school supplies in

01:22good time.

01:23When contacted, Education Minister Dr Nayan Gatsby Dolly said over 19,000 applicants

01:30have been approved for the book grant out of about 26,000 applications they received.

01:37She says while disbursement has not yet begun, successful applicants have been notified and

01:43the next step is payment, which she adds will start as soon as possible.

01:49NPETA President says while it was expected that more students would have benefited, it

01:55may not have been financially possible at this time.

01:59We were aware that there were over 65,000 being targeted, but it was a budget of $65

02:04million for this particular book grant and supplies to our students for the academic

02:09year 2024-25.

02:12Cindy Raghubar-Tikasingh, TV6 News.

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