Fagan treats SE St Catherine students to supplies, financial assistance

Some 200 students of the South Eastern St Catherine constituency last Thursday received well-needed back-to-school supplies and funding for college from Member of Parliament Colin Fagan.

The initiative, which began in 2007, has continued unabated with over two million students obtaining some form of back-to-school assistance in the form of vouchers, book grants and funding for tertiary studies.

According to Fagan, he has expended more than a quarter of his Constituency Development Fund allocation on the project. This year's event cost $5.5 million.

"It is a help fair for these students and their parents because other than the school supplies such as calculator, book bags, vouchers, book grants and funding for tertiary students handed out, we also brought in doctors, dentists and other health check-up practitioners to give the students free medical for back to school, shifting the burden of providing money for this requirement from their parents," he disclosed.

OTHER BENEFITS

"We also brought in other departments, such as the Tax Administration Jamaica, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Registrar General's Department and others, to assist parents in obtaining relevant documentation such as TRN and other benefits from these agencies," Fagan added.

Sydia Salmon from the Waterford community, who is currently in her final year at medical school at the University of the West Indies, told The Gleaner that she has been getting financial assistance from the member of parliament since her third year at the university.

"I am thankful for this initiative by the member of parliament because it gives me the financial security to study without worrying how my fees would be paid," Salmon said.

She was given a grant of $80,000 to assist with the payment for her final examinations.