As the 2024 new school term approaches, a wave of frustration has swept across parents of school-aged children, who are criticizing Trinidad and Tobago’s Education Ministry over its delayed processing of the School Supplies and Book Grant, a targeted assistance program designed to support low-income and vulnerable families with educational costs. The ministry made its announcement last Thursday, revealing that it had wrapped up the initial review phase for all 45,953 submitted applications for the grant, and has now moved into the final eligibility verification stage to ensure funding reaches the families that need it most. Under the current timeline, the ministry projects that it will complete verification for roughly 10,000 applications by the end of the day this Friday, with the remaining 35,953 applications set to be finalized by September 2, just five days before the new term kicks off on September 7. That narrow timeline has left many parents who counted on the grant to cover book and supply costs in a lurch, forcing them to dig into their own limited savings to purchase required materials weeks before they will hear if they qualify for assistance. Karen Alleyne, a customer service representative and parent connected to a grant applicant, shared her family’s experience with local outlet Express: “While the grant itself is a wonderful support for struggling families, this rollout is far too late. My cousin ended up scrambling to pull together the money to buy books after waiting months for any update, and we never received any email or official feedback on our application status.” Alleyne added that she had not seen widespread conversation about the ministry’s recent announcement among other parent groups in her community. For Lawrence Sookhoo, a security guard whose daughter is set to enter First Form at Barataria Secondary School this term, the long wait for a grant response left him no choice but to use money set aside in his informal rotating savings group, locally called a sou sou, to cover the cost of his daughter’s books. “Education is non-negotiable, so I just bought the books my child needs, regardless of the grant,” Sookhoo explained, noting that he had grown exhausted of waiting for an update on his application. One parent who requested anonymity shared that they had already spent roughly $2,000 on school materials, having already abandoned any hope of receiving government assistance ahead of the term. They added that they felt particular sympathy for workers who lost their jobs with the CEPEP and URP government employment programs, many of whom were counting on the grant to ease their financial strain. An anonymous educator echoed parent frustrations, emphasizing that the processing delay creates unnecessary hardship, especially for single-parent households that often operate on tight budgets. “This should have been finalized months ago, well before the term started,” the educator said. Local bookseller David Ramcharan noted that his store is now preparing for a chaotic last-minute rush of parents once grant approvals go through, even though most families have already purchased their required books ahead of the term. “From what I understand, around 20,000 approved parents will receive roughly $1,000 in cash directly deposited to their bank accounts,” Ramcharan explained. “The announcement was just made, so we haven’t seen any shift in sales yet, but we’re bracing for a surge once funds hit accounts.” Ramcharan added that his store has already processed smaller education vouchers from other government bodies and state-owned entities, including the National Gas Company, but that those have not moved the needle on overall sales so far this year. “Up to this point, sales are pretty much on par with last year, with no major increase,” he said. “We stocked all required books on time, so we’re ready for whatever last-minute demand comes our way.” This is not the first time the timeline of the School Supplies and Book Grant has drawn political scrutiny. Former Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, who currently serves as Member of Parliament for St Ann’s East, first raised questions about delayed grant processing ahead of the previous year’s school term, signaling that timeline issues have plagued the program for multiple cycles.