ST CATHERINE SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO BENEFIT FROM THE SECOND STAGING OF THE MOFPS NATIONAL BUDGET SCHOOL TOUR

­­­­­­­­­­­Kingston, Jamaica: Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS) is set to extend its 2024 National Budget Secondary School Tour to schools in St. Catherine in the second staging of the initiative. The tour was officially launched at the St. Catherine High School with participation from students from St. Jago High School on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.

The launch, which sets in motion a series of thirteen workshops scheduled to get underway across schools in St. Catherine as well as Kingston, is geared at sensitising students about the 2024/2025 Central Government Budget and the role and functions of the MOFPS.

Hon. Zavia Mayne, MP, State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, in his remarks at the launch, emphasized to students how the budget affects them.

“It is from the national budget we build and repair schools, hospitals, roads, develop national infrastructure and so much more. Without schools, you would not learn, and without hospitals would not receive appropriate and adequate healthcare. Some students also benefit from the PATH programme which is also something that is included in the national budget,” Mayne explained.

Meanwhile, Hon. Fayval Williams, MP, Minister of Education and Youth in her address to the students, pointed to  the importance of sensitising the younger generation about the national budget and noted that she looks forward to more schools benefitting from the initiative.

“I endorse this initiative and I would love to see it in all of our secondary schools across Jamaica, there are many [schools] and so we have to try to reach them. This a great initiative by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service which we at the Ministry of Education and Youth fully support,” she highlighted.

Marlon Campbell, Principal of St. Catherine High School described the school tour as a ‘cutting-edge’ approach to sensitising students about the national budget.

“I’ve never seen it done like this before, we grew up on just watching the budget on the television not understanding where the revenue comes from and how the monies are being spent but this tour provides first-hand information with the relevant people being present and giving us the information as it occurs in the many spaces.”

Also present at the launch was Mrs. Collette Feurtado-Pryce, Principal of St. Jago High School who delivered remarks on behalf of her institution.

Kitania Headley, Head Girl for St. Catherine High, said she has gained useful information from the budget presentations that will be beneficial to her in the future.

“The presentations were beneficial because we learnt a lot about the process budget. Also, as we look forward to going to university and as we maneuverer into our adult lives and start paying taxes this information we have received will be useful,” she explained.

Over two hundred participants were present at the launch which included an outside broadcast on Irie FM. The school tour will make stops at Waterford, Cumberland, Bridgeport, Greater Portmore, Haile Selassie, Norman Manley, Ascot, Jonathan Grant, Jose Marti Technical, Eltham and Spanish Town High schools.

The topics that will  be explored during the tour include a breakdown of the national budget for this fiscal year, the budget cycle, where the money comes from to fund the budget, and how funds are allocated, among others. The presentations will be conducted by staff from the Ministry’s Corporate Communication and Public Relations Branch, the Public Expenditure Division and the Economic Management Division.

For further information contact: 

Corporate Communication & Public Relations Branch

Ministry of Finance and the Public Service

30 National Heroes Circle, Kingston 4

Tel: (876) 932-4656/4660/4655

Email: Shakiel.Rochester-Shorter@mof.gov.jm; Suzell.Wray@mof.gov.jm