SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE PORTAL FOR SCHOOL-BASED ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMES
Basseterre, Saint Kitts, July 09, 2025 (SKNIS): Persons benefitting from the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis’ School-Based Assistance Programme and new enrollees will now enjoy a streamlined and efficient system that eliminates duplication and enhances confidentiality.
A new Expression of Interest portal, www.socialdevelopment.gov.kn by the ministry is now live as officials continue to modernise the way information is collected and use it to inform the decision-making process, reduce fraud, and expand services to children enrolled in public primary and secondary schools, as well as tertiary institutions.
The new system covers the School Uniform Assistance Programme, High School Book Loan Programme, CXC Fee Waiver Programme and the Early Childhood Subvention Programme. Azilla Clarke, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development, explained how the system works utilising Microsoft Forms.
“Since we launched our national social protection strategy back in 2012, some of the commitment points have been to serve as the one-stop shop for all social protection programmes because we have heard the cry of the public that they have to indicate their personal information repeatedly to a number of persons, so by being the clearing house we capture and then we just [share the information],” Ms. Clarke stated.
Officials will rely on information already in the database for beneficiaries of the Livelihood Improvement for Family Transformation (LIFT) Programme, Back-to-School Independence Initiative, and the Budget Boost Wallet. Persons applying for the School-Based Assistance Programmes will need to fill out the expression of interest application. Once completed and submitted, the social development staff will cross-reference the information and prefill the application form.
“When you come in to meet with the social assistance officers stationed at community centres around the island you are simply confirming the information that we have for you, providing any that we do not have, and then your application is processed and within a 14-working day period you will get a response,” Ms. Clarke added.
The information collected will be confidentially shared with the Ministry of Education, which will subsequently reach out to persons who applied for benefits for their children for assessment and disbursement.
The permanent secretary shared that the data collected will help to provide useful information that will help to shape policy and programmes in the near future, while also allowing greater access where necessary to additional social services support including cash transfer or voucher programmes, as well as training in parenting, money management, counselling and the like.
Persons are encouraged to register as soon as possible to meet the respective social programme deadlines.
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