St Kitts and Nevis opens EC$250 back-to-school voucher programme for eligible children

St. Kitts & Nevis: The Government of St. Kitts & Nevis has opened its 2026 Back-to-School Voucher Programme, under which EC$250 will be given to families for each qualifying child enrolled for 2026-27 academic year, with the assistance available to students in registered educational institutions across the Federation.

Applications are open from August 17 and will remain open until December 31, 2026. The money aims to help parents and guardians meet expenses for uniforms, school materials and other needs for the new school year.

The programme covers eligible children at licensed pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary schools.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Terrance Drew has announced the initiative in a social media post, saying that the Government is continuing to respond to the financial pressure faced by households.
“Through our 2026 Back-to-School Voucher Programme, every eligible child will receive EC$250 to assist with uniforms, school supplies and other essential back-to-school expenses,” Drew said.
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He also linked the programme with other measures which are being offered to the families during the back-to-school period. The Government will hold Discounted VAT Rate Days on August 28 and 29. Qualifying school supplies have been eligible for duty-free concessions since July 1 and will remain in place until September 30.

The voucher is part of the Government’s wider Summer Support Strategy and comes as households continue to face inflation, higher prices and economic pressure from international conditions.

Drew said that the administration has also used other policies in order to support families and strengthen household incomes. The Government said that it has raised the minimum wage to the highest level among the independent OECS states and has also increased salaries for civil servants, since taking office.

Gratuity and pension related benefits for Government Auxiliary Employees have also been introduced. Health protection for public servants has been made stronger. Children’s Medical Fund has been established and EC$1,000 have also been provided to the eligible children aged 5 to 18 through the ASPIRE programme.

The Government has also taken steps to improve its fiscal position and reduce the fiscal deficit, while continuing to provide direct assistance to the households.

The 2026 voucher programme follows the initiative which was first introduced in 2023.

To qualify as an applicant, a person must be at least 18 years old and be recognised as the child’s parent, guardian, caregiver or responsible adult in the records of the relevant educational institution. The applicant is required to have working contact details and an active JAD Digital Wallet. 

The applicant must give permission for the information submitted to be checked and used for administering the programme. 

In order to receive the benefit, the child must be named in the application and must have a place at a registered educational institution for the 2026-27 school year. A child who has already received the 2026 payment through a separate application cannot receive the benefit again.

Families with more than one eligible child do not have to complete a separate form for each child. One applicant can include several children in the same application, with the EC$250 amount worked out for each qualifying child.

The information supplied by the applicant will be checked before any payment. This includes confirming the identities of the applicant and the child, establishing the school status of the child and making sure that the applicant’s JAD wallet is valid.

Approved payments will be directly sent to the applicant’s JAD Digital Wallet.

Applications for the programme are open from August 17 through December 31, 2026.