$42 million paid out to over 210,000 students in Fiji

$42 million has been paid out to over 210,000 students in Fiji under the Back to School Support.

The Special Protection Specialist for the Ministry of Finance, Shamal Chand highlighted this during the Adaptive Social Protection Workshop held at the Holiday Inn today.

Chand says all successful applicants were paid in batches and have received payment notifications on their phones.

He says hotlines were set up for individuals to call and enquire about the status of their applications.

He adds that genuine disputes were raised, although applications were re-verified by various agencies to confirm the results.

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Finance Shiri Gounder confirms that they received a total of 216,256 applications from schools when the application period ended on 26th January.

Gounder says a total of 6,159 applications got held back by the Ministry due to some issues concerning incomplete information like parent names, payment details, and birth registration numbers.

He adds these applications have been sent back for correction to the Ministry of Education and schools, once the updated information is re-submitted the Ministry of Finance will clear their payments as well.