Mom thanks government for fulfilling children’s back to school needs
The Fiji Governments ‘Back to School Support’ initiative has assisted a total of 208,431 students from early childhood to Year 13 of high school, with the number having the potential to increase.
The payment of $200 per child from the Ministry of Finance has eased the burden of the majority of low-income earners in being able to purchase school supplies for their children.
In acknowledging the initiative, Saniana Rogo, a recipient of the program thanked the Government for the timely assistance that helped parents in sending their children to school in a proper way.
“I am an unemployed mother of four kids and two of my children attend the Assemblies of God Primary School while two are attending Assemblies of God High School,” Mrs Rogo relayed. “I found out about the back-to-school grant from my children’s school at the end of the school term and decided to take up on this opportunity.”
“The application method was easy as I received assistance from the school on filling out the form and after the process, I received $800 in grant,” she added. The mother of four said that she bought two pairs of uniforms each for her four children, school sandals, sports uniforms with running shoes and school bags.
“Apart from the stationaries, I bought them supplies that would last a long time and it was expensive but it was worth it,” Mrs Rogo said.
“I would advise parents to use the back-to-school grant funds well and for the purpose it was given for as I dislike seeing some children being deprived of proper school attire and school supplies.” “My husband is a mechanic who isn’t employed full time therefore, this monetary assistance is a huge help to us and where we have been able to fulfil our children’s school needs,” she added.
Mrs Rogo adds that “education is the key to a better tomorrow and with proper education and support from parents, children can achieve greater things in life and make a difference wherever they go”.
Ministry of Education’s permanent secretary, Selina Kuruleca, in acknowledging the overwhelming response from parents noted that “there have been some manual entries done as parents visited our office”.
“So, there are a total of around 2401 students left to receive the assistance,” Ms Kuruleca highlighted. “Some parents are still coming to our office regarding issues with payment, so the number of applications that were not updated by the schools will increase,” she added.
To be eligible for this initiative, the combined household income was set below $50,000 per annum.