MOE to provide textbooks to boost National Standards Curriculum

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be providing textbooks and appropriate electronic and other supplies to support the National Standards Curriculum and other curricula at grades one to 13 for the upcoming academic year.

The total cost associated with these procurements at both the primary and secondary levels will be approximately $817 million.

“Distribution of these resources will commence in August of this year,” minister with responsibility for education Karl Samuda said during his contribution to the 2019-20 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on July 31.

Samuda also disclosed that the ministry had introduced a pilot programme for the repair of damaged and worn furniture in the 2018-19 academic year and that the pilot ended this month to make way for the full roll-out of the programme.

Under the pilot project, the ministry selected two schools from each parish that have a woodwork and metalwork department. These 28 schools were known as repairer schools.

Each school was paired with a number of neighbouring schools that had furniture to be repaired and was given little more than $1.5 million to complete the repairs.

So far, 6,868 pieces of furniture have been repaired at a cost of $19.65 million.

“The cost to replace the furniture would have been $28.1 million. Roughly $9 million was saved from this project,” Samuda told the House.