Students on the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) in rural parishes are to benefit from a school transportation programme starting in September.
It will begin as a pilot project to be implemented in St. Elizabeth, St. Thomas, St. Mary, Hanover and S.t James.
This was announced by Senator Ruel Reid, Minister of Education, who said the Government is embarking on the initiative to address the problem of absenteeism among this cohort, which represents 50 per cent of all children in school.
He said on average there is 20 per cent absenteeism daily because parents cannot afford to send their children to school.
Addressing a forum organised by the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) on Tuesday, the minister pointed out that in several parishes, more than 40 per cent of households are on PATH.
It is reported that many schools in rural areas have more than 90 per cent of students on the programme.
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