The scholarships were awarded as part of an educational programme run by the constituency's member of parliament, Laurence Broderick, who is also the minister of state in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications.
At the presentations at his ministry in Kingston last Friday, Broderick announced that 89 students have benefited from the programme so far, with 34 receiving bursaries for placing first and second in the Grade Six Achievement Test in their schools. Three students were also presented with full scholarships totalling over $500,000. At the tertiary level, 56 students have received bursaries amounting to over $2.4 million.
Broderick explained that with the current economic situation and challenges to the funding of education, parents, though willing, could not step up to the plate.
"So we have chosen to devote a substantial amount of (the) Constituency Development Fund to educational needs," he said.
Upgrade infrastructure
Broderick said some 24 per cent of the funds allocated to Northern Clarendon has been put into education. In addition to scholarships and bursaries, about $4.2 million was used to upgrade educational infrastructure.
Additionally, more than $1.3 million was spent for uniforms assistance and a total of $818,000 on a summer camp for children aged 12-18.
Loretta Williams, parent of one of the beneficiaries, was very thankful for the scholarships. She said they would go a long way in assisting parents.
Broderick also announced that approximately $2.2 million from the CDF would be contributed to a project by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to construct a basic school in Bunkers Hill, which cost more than $23 million.
Allocation
He also stated that JSIF would be spending $3 million on completing the Crooked River Skills Training Centre.
The CDF, which is operated out of the Office of the Prime Minister, received $2.4 billion in the 2008/09 Budget. This allocation covered administrative expenses of the unit and allocations to the 60 constituencies, with the main thrust being to promote human and infrastructure development at the community and constituency levels. The Social and Economic Support Programme, which received $269.8 million in the Budget, was incorporated under the CDF.