PHILIPSBURG--Education Minister Silveria Jacobs has signed the ministerial decrees to facilitate the payment of the group of students approved for financing, for the studying-in-the-region project, being funded by the Dutch Government.
The decrees were finalized after some delays were encountered in the process. Jacobs told reporters on Wednesday that students should receive their payments this week. The Dutch government has provided 329,000 euros for the studying-in-the-region initiative. Students are allowed to study anywhere outside of the Netherlands.
Jacobs apologized to students for the delay in the processing of their payments. The disbursing of the funds had been done with the assistance of USONA in the past. This is the first year that a special account has been opened so that the funds do not go into the general budget of St. Maarten. St. Maarten had to set up specific protocol to disburse the funds in a transparent manner and be accountable.
Jacobs said even though she had made a decision in early December about the students who will be granted the financing, the process could not be finalised in a week or two as she had anticipated. It had to go through internal processes in the ministry and external processes in finance ministry.
“There were some unforeseen delays,” she said, noting that this was due to the new manner in which the funds would now be dispersed.
