Good afternoon, Barbados. On August 11, 2023, our Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mia Amor Mottley, announced that starting this academic school year (September 2023) parents/guardians will be eligible to claim financial assistance, through a $100 grant, for textbooks purchased for primary school students. This eligibility applies to students at both public and private schools.
Since then, the Permanent Secretary (Wendy Odle) and the Accounting Department of our Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training have been working with the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury Department as well as the Principals and Information Technology officers of primary schools to fine-tune a system that would make the claim-process easy for parents and guardians – all the way from claim request to payment.
As you can imagine, it took time to consult and coordinate so that we all could agree and sign off collectively on how best to apply; how the claim requests would be processed; who would verify claims and how the verification would be done; what would happen if parents and guardians did not have access to a bank or credit union account; where parents and guardians would go for help if you have questions or if you run into technical or technological challenges. These questions had to be addressed plus human resourcing needs had to be worked out to process all the expected thousands of claims in a timely manner.
I know that many of you have already bought textbooks for your primary school students, and you have been asking about how to make the claim for the $100 grant. I am happy to say that we are now ready.
We have agreed to an electronic filing process, which will allow parents/guardians to apply for the $100 grant online from your various communication devices (be it your cell phone, tablet, laptop, or other computer).
- The Ministry has created an online, fillable form to capture necessary details. We are asking parents or guardians to take responsibility for filling it out and submitting the request for the Primary School $100 Textbook Grant.
- The online form entitled, “The Primary School $100 Textbook Grant 2023 – 2024”, will be available on the websites of the Government Information Service (GIS) and the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training. PS Odle will provide you with the details.
- Simply access the form and read the instructions at the front before completing the Form.
- All purchases of primary school textbooks should have been made between the period July 1, 2023, and September 30, 2023.
- Please have your textbook receipts at hand, as the receipts MUST be photographed or scanned and attached to the Form.
- Your receipt should show the name of the store; the receipt number; and the date of purchase. The bookstores contacted by the Ministry indicated that their bona fide receipts, usually carry these details.
- Parents and guardians, we are asking you to complete the Form correctly with the student’s information as well as the parent or guardian’s contact details and required information to process payments. Remember to upload/attach the receipts when prompted to do so.
- Once submitted, the Forms will go to the child’s respective school, and the verified Form will then be sent to the Accounts Department of the Ministry of Education, which will facilitate the payment to the parent or guardian’s bank or credit union account.
- Please provide accurate banking information when you are completing the online form to ensure that the funds are forwarded to the correct account. This will avoid any delays that would be caused by having to return funds from the bank and by having to re-process claims.
- Please use ONLY active Bank or Credit Union account numbers when completing the online form. Your ATM card number will NOT be accepted by the online system.
- The name on the bank account MUST match the name of the person submitting the grant request in order for the Textbook Grant to be processed. Mismatched names will cause processing delays because further investigation would need to be done.
For persons requiring assistance completing the forms
- The Information Technology Coordinator (ITC) at respective schools will be available to provide any needed assistance to persons not able to access or fill out the Form electronically.
- If you need to go for assistance to the school, please walk with your receipt(s) for the primary school textbooks purchased, your National Identification card, the student’s identification card, and the account number of the bank or credit union where you would like government to deposit the money.
- Parents or guardians requiring assistance should contact the Principal at the child’s school to make an appointment. Appointments for assistance are to be made with the school, and not with the Ministry of Education. The reason why is because the IT officers who will be assisting at the respective schools will have their own schedules for teaching and for providing technical support, and the Ministry will not be in a position to track every single IT Officer’s time schedule. The IT Officer or Principal would be better able to work with you to determine a mutually convenient time.
For persons without a bank or credit union account
We are aware that some persons may not have a bank account or credit union account. Disbursement of the grant directly to your bank or credit union account is likely to be the faster way to receive it, and we encourage parents and guardians to get an account, if you can.
However, if your circumstance prevents you from using a direct deposit to an active account, please inform the school so that your specific case can be brought to the attention of the Finance Section of the Ministry of Education. Arrangements will then be made for you to be paid by cheque. Please note, though, that additional time may be required to process claims that require cheques to be written. Our Accounts Department will do our best to process these manual requests as fast as we can.
Here are some important details for a smooth process
- For those who asked whether the grant can be paid in a different currency other than Barbados dollars, the answer is “no”. The Primary School Textbook Grant will be paid in Barbados dollars only, and payment will be credited to local banks or credit unions ONLY.
- The value of the Primary School Textbook Grant is $100 only. To further explain this, consider the following scenarios:
- (a) If you are a parent or guardian who spends over $100 in textbooks, only up to $100 will be disbursed.
- (b) If you are a parent or guardian who spends less than $100 in textbooks, only the actual amount spent will be disbursed.
- (c) If you are a parent or guardian of three children, how do you apply for the grant? You are required to complete one form per student, and upload the receipt on each form.
- We know that there are students who currently received assistance through the Ministry of Education’s existing Primary School Textbook system. Given that financial assistance is already being provided to these students, parents and guardians will not be eligible to put in a claim under this general $100 Primary School Textbook Grant for students already benefitting from existing financial assistance.
- Parents who co-parent a child, please be reminded that only one parent can claim for the $100 Primary School Textbook Grant for the same child. Our Ministry is encouraging your cooperation in this matter, and we are respectfully asking that you decide upfront which parent or guardian will submit the request, so as to avoid duplication and delays in verifying and processing your claim.
- Parents and guardians, please be reminded that you can only claim ONCE PER CHILD.
So when can you submit your request for the $100 grant?
The online form, entitled “The Primary School $100 Textbook Grant 2023 – 2024” may be accessed by clicking here. It will be available until October 16, 2023.
We hope that this information answers your questions, and if you have further questions please contact the Principal at your child’s primary school.
Conclusion
The provision of this $100 Primary School Textbook Grant is part of this Government’s ongoing commitment to support parents and guardians in providing the necessary education and educational tools for your children.
It goes hand-in-hand with the support that Government already offers in primary schools for schools meals, free transportation on buses for school children and universal education.
Our Prime Minister and our Ministry of Education remain committed to contributing to a bright future for every child. Thank you!
Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney