Students from 10 institutions are poised to benefit from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service’s Secondary Schools Tour, which runs from April 18 to 28.

The event, which kicked off on Tuesday (April 18) at Wolmer’s High School for Girls in Kingston, will provide the youngsters with a simplified breakdown of the Government’s 2023/24 budgetary allocations. Participating schools will also receive copies of the Citizens’ Guide to the Budget.

The undertaking has been endorsed by the Ministry of Education and Youth.

Students from Wolmer’s Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools were sensitised during Tuesday’s interactive session, where they were allowed to ask questions relating to how the national budget affects them.

Head girl Dominique Brown and head boy J’Vaughn Hyman, had high praises for the initiative.

“I do like what I am hearing. I am thankful that the ministries of finance and education have taken the time out to do this tour and to really explain to the youth what the whole budget process is all about,” Brown told JIS News.

She noted that prior to the tour’s commencement, “most of the terms had flown over my head”.

“But being here today and hearing the explanation, really brings everything together,” the head girl added.

For his part, Hyman said the tour coincides with upcoming activities in May, being commemorated as Child Month.

“The ministry understood the importance of letting us know ahead of time, [especially since] we will be the age group it (the budget) will mostly affect in the future,” he told JIS News.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, emphasised the Government’s commitment to education.

“It is the productivity of the individual citizen that will, ultimately, determine the productivity of the overall society. So, ensuring that each one of you has what you need to learn is critically important, and the budget is geared towards making the necessary provisions that each student in Jamaica can have what he or she needs in order to learn,” Clarke stated.

In her remarks, Education Minister Fayval Williams, welcomed the initiative, while emphasising that sensitising students on the national budget, “is going to form part of [the] civics [curriculum] in schools”.