MINISTER of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke says the Government has allocated an additional $347 million under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) School Feeding Programme to facilitate its expansion at the early childhood level.

Dr Clarke, who was opening the 2019/20 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday, said the allocation represents a seven per cent increase in the programme.

The total allocation to school feeding for financial year 2019/20, he said, will be $5.1 billion, up from $4.8 billion in financial year 2018/19.

The finance minister also announced that an additional allocation of $200 million has been provided to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information under the Examination Fees Assistance Programme to support payment for four additional subjects for PATH secondary level students sitting Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.

This increases the allocation for PATH Examination Fee Assistance by 50 per cent, Dr Clarke said, from $400 million to $600 million.

The minister told Parliament that an allocation of $562 million is included in the budget to support retention of the PATH Back-to-School Grant which was first introduced in August 2018 and that the benefit will be institutionalised under PATH and payments made once per year in August just before the start of the new school year.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education is to receive $380 million in budgetary support for the provision of transportation grants to schools. The initiative is being pursued by the ministry as a strategy to significantly reduce the transportation costs of 7,500 students who are registered beneficiaries of PATH, attending 94 public schools across Jamaica.

Dr Clarke said this increases the allocation for PATH transportation by $180 million or 90 per cent from $200 million in financial year 2017/18 to $380 million in financial year 2019/20.

“These increased budgetary allocations to expand PATH school feeding, PATH examinations and PATH transportation in addition to the average 16.4 per cent increase in PATH cash grants represent the protection of the vulnerable in action,” said Dr Clarke.

— Kimone Francis