Damion Mitchell, News Coordinator
MINISTER OF Education, Youth and Culture, Maxine Henry-Wilson says it is no secret that the $37.9 billion allocation to the Education Ministry announced at the start of the Budget year included $5 billion drawn from National Housing Trust (NHT) funds.
According to Mrs. Henry-Wilson, the information is contained in the 2005/06 Estimates of Expenditure. She said the original education budget for 2005/06 was $25 billion dollars. However, with supplementary additions, an incremental increase on the 2004/2005 budget and the $5 billion NHT injection, the budgetary allocation amounted to $37.9 billion.
Mrs. Henry-Wilson was countering criticisms that the Government had created an impression that the $5 billion in NHT funds was an addition to the $37.9 billion announced for the education sector at the start of the Budget year.
"It could not be mysterious," she said, adding that any irregularity would have been identified in balancing the budget.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
In his budget presentation in April, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced that the $5 billion from the NHT surplus would fund the transformation of the education sector in capital expenditure alone.
He also said a special fund should be created from which the NHT money would be administered.
In the meantime, Ruel Reid, president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, said he would be meeting with representatives of the Education Ministry next week to have some concerns addressed having now learnt that the $5 billion for the education transformation process is part of the $37.9 billion education budget.
