PATH Students Recognised for Academic Achievements

Thirty-eight students have been recognised for their outstanding academic achievements by the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).

The students, who are beneficiaries of the Programme, were recognised on November 9 during an awards ceremony at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge, in Kingston.

The biennial event was held under the theme ‘Promoting Health and Education for an Empowered Nation’. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson, in delivering her keynote address applauded the recipients.

“They perform better every year, and consistently among those with the best attendance records at their schools. They are also among the top achievers in the GSAT and CSEC examinations. Such accomplishment is heartening and it gives us a promise of hope when some of our most vulnerable children are now given the opportunity to position themselves for upward mobility,” she said.

Mrs. Robinson pointed out that PATH, which is the largest social protection support system in the English-speaking Caribbean, will be expanded “in the very near future”.

The expansion is expected to include the digitisation of payments to families; implementation of a transitional plan for beneficiaries who are no longer eligible for the

Programme through case management, skills training, on-the-job experience and entrepreneurship grants; and the continued implementation of the PATH Parenting pilot project.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Colette Roberts Risden, in her opening remarks also congratulated the recipients.

“Our recognition of our students is a testimony that PATH is achieving its objective and is making a difference in the lives of many. It is proof that we have broken the intergenerational cycle of poverty,” she said.

Representatives from the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information; Ministry of Health; and Bill Express also brought greetings.

Awardees were recognised in the categories of CSEC Top Scholars, CSEC Top Achievers, and GSAT Top Achievers.

Top scholars were selected based on their academic merit, while the top achievers were selected based on their academic merit and extracurricular involvement.

PATH is a conditional cash transfer programme of the Government that delivers social assistance benefits to the neediest persons in the society.

The programme has approximately 372,852 registered beneficiaries as at June 2016, with children representing just over 60 per cent of this total.