HGP Nightly News – Budget 2026 has increased the “Because We Care” cash grant from $50,000 to $60,000, while introducing a new annual transportation grant of $20,000 per child, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh announced during his budget presentation.
When combined with the existing $5,000 uniform voucher, the measures would take the annual package of school-related cash support to $85,000 per child. Government estimates the programme will reach about 206,000 children across public and private schools, with the combined transfers projected at roughly $17.5 billion for the year.
The increases build on the 2025 package, which officials described as a $50,000 “Because We Care” grant plus the $5,000 uniform allowance, bringing the per-child support last year to $55,000. Government had previously cited total 2025 allocations of about $11.3 billion for roughly 205,000 children.
But the 2026 numbers are also being weighed against what was floated on the 2025 campaign trail, when senior PPP/C figures publicly linked the party’s manifesto to a much larger expansion: an annual “Because We Care” cash grant of $100,000 per child and a transportation support grant of $100,000 per child.
That comparison is now sharpening questions about expectations versus fiscal reality. If support had moved to $200,000 per child for approximately 206,000 children, the annual bill would land in the vicinity of $41.2 billion, before accounting for any additional education-side costs. By contrast, the 2026 package totals $85,000 per child, or about $17.5 billion, meaning the gap between the campaign-scale figure and the budgeted support is roughly $23.7 billion a year.
Supporters of the budget’s approach are likely to argue that the increase is still meaningful, especially for families juggling transport costs, uniforms, and school-related expenses. Critics, however, may contend that the campaign rhetoric set a target that was always difficult to meet at scale, and that the shift from what was discussed publicly to what is now funded suggests the earlier expectation was unrealistic once the full national price tag is applied.
For households, the immediate takeaway is practical: the grant rises by $10,000, transport support is now a separate $20,000 payment, and the uniform voucher remains, lifting the yearly total support to $85,000 per child for 2026, an increase, but not the leap voters were encouraged to anticipate during the campaign season.
