Ministry of Finance makes early payment of $40.4 million in Back-to-School Support

Good news for parents as the Back-to-School Support payment for the 2025 school year has been processed and paid, ahead of the initially announced date for Wednesday to give them 2 and a half weeks to prepare their children for school.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad says as part of the Back-to-School support initiative, a total of 208,673 applications were received and of these, 200,176 successful applications have been paid today, totalling $40.4 million.

He says the remaining 8,313 applications are currently on hold from students awaiting their Year 12 exam results, as they have not yet been enrolled in Year 13.

The Deputy Prime Minister says these payments will be processed once the results are available and students are officially enrolled in Year 13 for the 2025 school year by the end of January.

Professor Prasad says parents and guardians can access the $200 support per child via their MPAiSA or MyCASH accounts and Post Fiji outlets.

He says the funds can be withdrawn or used virtually through digital wallets for the purchase of school items.

Professor Prasad says for those in maritime areas, the funds are available for collection at the nearest Post Fiji agency, upon presenting the child’s student ID as proof.

He says the Back-to-School support is a flagship initiative of the Coalition Government aimed at helping parents and guardians cover the costs of uniforms, school bags, shoes, lunch boxes, stationery, and other essentials for their children before school starts on 27 January 2025.

The Deputy Prime Minister says in 2023, a total of 223,475 students were paid around $44.7 million, while in 2024, a total 212,740 students were paid $42.5 million under this initiative. With this payout, the total assistance under this initiative since its inception will be around $130 million.

He adds the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education extend their sincere gratitude to all school heads, teachers, school administrators, students, parents, and guardians for their dedication and assistance throughout the application process.