The remittance of cash grants to 11,560 students registered under the Social Register of Mauritius (SRM) by the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF), operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, kickstarted, yesterday morning, at the Paul Octave Wiéhé Auditorium, in Réduit.
The provision of these cash transfers for the purchase of school materials for the Academic year 2024 primarily aims at preventing early school dropouts among vulnerable families by catering for their educational material inadequacies.
The Minister of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo; the personnel of the NEF; SRM beneficiaries; and other personalities were present on the occasion where cash grants were symbolically remitted to some 561 beneficiaries of the SRM.
In her keynote address, Minister Jeewa-Daureeawoo reiterated Government’s commitment to uplift vulnerable groups through notable measures including the increase of the minimum salary to Rs 15,000 as from 2024. She, moreover, recalled the introduction of the Marshall Plan in 2016, in view to building the resilience of poverty-stricken families through the provision of financial support based on the number of members in the household, child mentoring, social housing facilities and the inculcation of family values.
Stressing on the significance of education in improving the quality of life of Mauritians, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo remarked that the education of children is not merely the Government’s, schools’, teachers’ and the NEF officers’ responsibility, but also that of parents. If any of the aforesaid stakeholder abdicates from their role, the children’s future will be jeopardised, she deplored.
The Minister dwelt on the imperativeness of strengthening parent-child relationships by spending quality family time as well as cultivating the values of perseverance, sacrifice, self-respect, comprehension, respect for others and tolerance among children. Furthermore, she indicated that parental involvement, support and motivation in children’s education will deter the youngsters from being neglected and instead, boost their academic performance. Every child should be in school and given the opportunity to succeed in their career path, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo further pointed out.
Instead of handing school materials over to the students, the beneficiaries will receive a cash grant ranging from Rs 3,200 to Rs 6,000. The quantum for cash grant for pre-primary, primary, secondary and pre-vocational pupils will be around Rs 3,200, Rs 4,500, Rs 6,000 and Rs 5,500 respectively. It is to be noted that 6,990 and 4,570 children in Mauritius and Rodrigues will benefit from the Cash Grants under the School Materials Scheme for Academic Year 2024. The cash transfers will be allotted to the beneficiaries in three batches.
