JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Floyd Green, has dismissed claims that the Ministry has cancelled the August intake for the National Youth Service (NYS).

 

The NYS provides summer jobs for high school and tertiary students.

 

But messages circulating on social media claim that the Ministry of Finance has indicated that the budget for the job programme has been exhausted and the NYS is unable to take on more participants.

 

However, in a series of posts on his official Twitter account Friday, Green said this is not true noting that the NYS has been placing students in jobs and will continue to do so in August.

 

He points out that the ministry decided to begin job placements in June to facilitate more participants, noting that this is the first time that the programme commenced a month early.

 

The state minister says so far almost 12,000 students have been placed in jobs, an increase of approximately 100 per cent compared to last year.

 

Green states that the budget for the summer youth programme has been significantly increased noting that the stipend paid to NYS participants has gone up.

 

He says secondary school students are paid $8,500 per week, up from $6,000.

 

Tertiary students receive a stipend of $10,600 per week, moving from $8,500.

 

CAPTION: Hon. Floyd Green, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information