KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, is assuring the public that there is no cut in the expenditure on education in the Third Supplementary Estimates.

This follows what the minister described as a “misleading story” published in a newspaper article yesterday which suggested the expenditure on education was cut.

Dr Clarke noted that the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI) is procuring $1.8 billion of laptops for PATH students. He explained that the education ministry has engaged the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET) to purchase these laptops, which he says is a practical arrangement, undertaken with the aim of speed and efficiency, as the MSET has the experience and the relationships with suppliers to undertake this activity at scale and on relatively short notice.

“To implement this plan the MOEYI is transferring approximately $1.8 billion to the MSET to acquire the laptops for MOEYI’s PATH students. This does not, by any means, represent a cut to the spend on education,” Dr Clarke stressed.

The minister further encouraged the media to make every effort to report accurately, particularly on matters to do with finance, the budget and the economy.

“Failure to do so undermines the body politic, increases cynicism in our society and makes us all worse off. Reporting on the budget cannot be rushed. It requires an examination of the figures in the tabled documents as well as a review of the accompanying notes, which are an integral part of the Supplementary Estimates,” the minister said.