State Minister Says National Budget Touches Every Student’s Life and Future

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Zavia Mayne, has launched the 2026/27 National Budget Secondary School Tour, underscoring that the Budget touches every student’s life and future.

Delivering the main address at the Ferncourt High School in St. Ann on April 14, Mr. Mayne urged students to imagine a decade of progress and to view the Budget as a practical tool for achieving the country they want.

“The National Budget is everybody’s business,” he proclaimed, framing the exercise as a personal and national enterprise rather than a distant ledger of numbers.

The tour, which has already visited 38 schools since its inception in 2023 and reached more than 5,760 students and teachers in Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and Clarendon, is part of a broader effort to bring budgetary decisions into the classroom.

Mr. Mayne said the objective is clear: make the budget relatable and show how government choices about education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and national security shape daily life and opportunities after graduation.

The State Minister also highlighted the immediate relevance of budgetary decisions, giving a concrete example from recent events, notably Hurricane Melissa, noting that in the wake of a hurricane, resources are allocated swiftly to repair schools and restore safe learning environments.

“Your own school felt that impact, and the Budget helped make recovery possible,” he said, linking fiscal policy to resilience and return to learning.

Central to the message is the Citizens’ Guide to the Budget, a booklet distributed to students at the session.

Mr. Mayne described the guide as a vital resource that explains the 2026/27 Budget in accessible terms and urged students to share it with family and peers to extend understanding beyond the classroom.

He emphasised its usefulness for students pursuing business subjects at CSEC and CAPE levels.

The State Minister acknowledged teachers and school administrators as critical partners in Jamaica’s development.

He reiterated the Government’s commitment to ongoing dialogue with education-sector representatives about salaries and working conditions, signalling that public service compensation remains a priority alongside budgetary allocations.

Looking ahead, Mr. Mayne encouraged students to engage actively with the information presented, challenge assumptions, ask questions, and consider their eventual roles as future leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and public servants. He painted a future in which today’s learners help shape Jamaica’s national development, rather than merely inheriting it.

The tour’s intent, Mr. Mayne explained, is not simply to disseminate fiscal details but to cultivate a generation that sees budgeting as a practical framework for pursuing opportunity, security, and growth.

He stressed that the National Budget is not solely the Government’s concern, it is the nation’s business.

The State Minister said that the 2026/27 National Budget is a living plan with each citizen at the centre, and “the more young people understand it,” the stronger the country’s roadmap becomes.