THE Government of Jamaica is providing $2.03 billion in back-to-school grants to beneficiary students under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) and the Poor Relief Programme.

Over 150,000 beneficiary students in primary and secondary schools are each set to receive $10,000 in added benefits, provided by the Special Economic Relief Programme (SERP), which was recently announced by Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke. This is in addition to the annual PATH back-to-school grant of $3,500 per beneficiary student, which was introduced in September 2018.

The back-to-school grants are being delivered to eligible families by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, along with the regular bimonthly PATH payout, which began on Monday, August 22, 2022.

In addition to the back-to-school grants, the ministry has budgeted a further $40 million for post-secondary grants as incentives to former beneficiary students who continue to pursue studies at levels up to associate degrees, and a further $424 million in tertiary bursaries, for those pursuing bachelor’s degrees in tertiary institutions accredited by the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ).

Each tertiary bursary is valued at $100,000 per year, and is available for up to four years of study, conditioned on satisfactory performance.