The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrusssell@tribunemedia.net

THERE has been an apparent increase in applications for help with school uniform costs this year, according to the Department of Social Services.

Charlamae Fernander, acting director of Social Services, noted that in 2023, 651 households in New Providence and 572 households in Grand Bahama applied for the uniform assistance programme, totalling 1,223 households. She said the statistics were based on households due to the fact that a number of children could be in one household.

“The trend seems to be upwards this year based on the number of applications we see coming in on a daily basis,” Ms Fernander told The Tribune yesterday.

She added many parents/ guardians applied for uniform assistance last minute, hoping to afford their children’s uniforms on their own but circumstances didn’t work out.

Currently, there is high demand for uniform assistance in New Providence and Grand Bahama, with significantly fewer applications from the Family Islands.

Ms Fernander could not provide the current number of applications for this year due to a backlog still being processed. She encouraged parents and guardians to apply by mid-June when school first closes, to prevent such delays.

The programme operates by issuing purchase orders to various uniform and shoe stores partnered with the government. Parents receive documentation showing the number of uniforms approved, which they present at these stores. Uniform assistance is available for children in preschool tup to high school.

Officials urged parents and guardians to submit their uniform assistance applications before September 13.

Applications can be made online at https://promis.gov.bs/service/uniform-assistance or by visiting the nearest outreach centre under the Department of Social Services.

In September 2022, the late Minister of Social Services and Urban Development Obie Wilchcombe said there was a slight increase in the number of persons who sought school uniform assistance from the government. Mr Wilchcombe told The Tribune that while 839 people in New Providence sought assistance, 918 needed the help in the Family Islands for a total of 1,757.