PATH remains a priority, says education minister

The Education Ministry is assuring the public that it is committed to providing cooked lunches, snacks and breakfast to as many needy students as possible, given the significant positive impact that the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) has on attendance at schools.

The ministry was responding to a report on the weekend that Edwin Allen High School, on Friday, announced the discontinuation of lunches for students under the PATH initiative for the rest of the school term, which ends in December.

According to principal of the Clarendon-based school, Jermaine Harris, "The funds that the government sends have been used up for this term…Once we receive additional PATH funds from the government, then we will resume this arrangement.”

He added, "It's just that you get funding, and you as the school try to stretch it as much as you can, because you get $150 per student, but a lunch costs $350, so if you should give a student $150 it would not be adequate."

In a statement today, Minister of Education and Youth, Fayval Williams, said funding is disbursed to the schools to provide cooked lunches for students on the basis that once meals are prepared in large quantities, the schools are able to reap the benefits of economy of scale, thus the students should be able to be fed for the agreed period.

She also noted that PATH is the government's social safety net programme administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Youth.

It provides breakfast and cooked lunches at schools for the children of the families on PATH.

“The meals being provided for students on PATH are not to be provided at a profit margin and thus should not be aligned to the cost charged for the regular lunches which are generally priced with a profit margin, even though minimal, at the school level,” Williams said in the statement.

“Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Youth provides the funds to pay the cooks and provides the school canteens and the equipment in those canteens.”

In the case of Edwin Allen High School, the ministry said it provided the school with $8,843,250 for 907 PATH students, as indicated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, for the Christmas term.   

“The Ministry is aware of the rising cost for food supplies and the impact of inflation on the school feeding programme. Currently, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security provides $5.5 billion for our school feeding programme for this fiscal year FY2022/2023,” Williams said.

According to Williams, the ministry currently feeds the following students:

• At the early childhood level: 26,221 infants five years old and younger.
• At the primary schools: 63,476 students across grades one to six.
• At the high schools: 65,169 students across grades seven to 13.
• Total number of students being provided for is 154,866.

The education ministry said it also provides snacks to 18,732 students and breakfast to 60,207 students through the Nutrition Products Limited, which forms part of its total school feeding programme in schools.

“As we embark on the budget planning for a new fiscal year, school feeding remains a priority budget item,” said Williams.

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