$62 million allocated for Free Education Grant in the current financial year despite the pandemic - Kumar

The Ministry of Education has been allocated $62 million for Free Education Grant in the current financial year despite the pandemic.

This was highlighted by the Minister for Education Premila Kumar when questioned by SODELPA MP Ro Teimumu Kepa to update Parliament on the Free Education Grants for all educational institutions during the pandemic.

She says for the first time in Fiji’s history in 2021, the schools were closed for over eight months and in Term 1, the Ministry released grants to all compliant schools.

Kumar says in Term 2 of 2021 when the schools were still closed and teachers were home, the ministry released full grant to all the schools to prepare for the reopening of schools in the new normal.

She says to ensure that schools meet the COVID-19 safe school reopening protocol for the safety of children, the ministry released a further 50% grant to all schools for Term 3 of 2021.

She says in 2020, despite schools being closed for three months, due to the first wave of COVID-19, the Ministry released budgeted grants to all schools that were compliant for all three terms.

Kumar says since its inception 8 years ago, government has invested a total of $565 million in the form of Free Education Grant to 736 primary, 175 secondary and more than 870 ECE schools.

She adds that the Free Education Grant has eased the financial burden on parents, students, teachers and the school management committees scores, as they used to engage in fundraising activities to improve educational facilities and to provide teaching resources.

Kumar says government assists approximately 236,000 students annually through Free Education Grant and the increase in enrolment rates is a clear indication of the benefit of this.

The Minister also confirmed that they cleared outstanding arrears of water bills for schools at a cost of $483,000 in Term 3 of 2021.

Kumar says these payments are being adjusted from the Free Education Grant payout and was paid to clear water bills for 87 Early Childhood Education schools, 70 primary and 17 secondary schools.

She says unpaid water bills accumulated over many years for the schools and ministry stepped in to pay them to ensure that water is the basic need is maintained.

Kumar says the FijiFirst government has been first to provide free education to the Fijian children which are contrary to what Sitiveni Rabuka has been saying.

Kumar says during Rabuka’s time he provided assistance to children who could not afford to pay the school fees, but the FijiFirst government is the first government that made education for ECEs right up to secondary schools absolutely free.

The Leader of the People’s Alliance Party Sitiveni Rabuka had earlier told LegendFM News that his SVT government introduced the tuition fee-free education for primary school but levies and grants were still being charged.