Fiji makes significant progress-MDG report

A report on the Millennium Development Goal success stories from Asia and the Pacific has shown that Fiji has made significant progress towards providing success to basic education including addressing issues of gender equality.

According to the Ministry of Information, it stated that according to the report the Education Ministry's initiative for providing free bus fares to low income families who cannot afford to send their children to school has successfully progressed towards achieving the MDG number 2.

MDG 2 states is the goal to achieve universal primary education,  by 2015.

$10million was set aside in the 2010 Budget for this scheme in addition to providing tuition free education.
 
A total of 490 out of 600 schools on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Rotuma have benefited from this scheme.
 
The Government has also pledged to provide free textbooks to all students, starting with primary schools.
 
$7.4million has been allocated for the family assistance allowance along with $30 food voucher programme for poor families will benefit around 200,000 people.

Meanwhile Fiji's free bus fare program is expected to be discussed at the Millennium Development Goal Summit in New York on the outskirts of the UN General Assembly next week.

 
Story by: Ana Naisoro