Ban lifted
Ministry gives schools go ahead to fundraise
THE Ministry of Education has reversed a decade-long ban on school fundraising after school heads and managers openly vented their frustration and disappointment over the reduction of the Free Education Grant.
School heads and managers across Viti Levu have made known the struggles they would be confronting in meeting financial obligations because the announcement has come six weeks into the third term of the school calendar.
The ministry said the reduction came about after Government slashed the Education Ministry budget by $200 million, forcing cutbacks in many areas.
THE Ministry of Education has proposed a reduction in grants given to schools as part of the free education program.
For primary schools, there is an $18 cut in grant per child across all years.
For secondary schools, the reduction is dependent on the student roll each year.
The ministry is presently holding consultations across the country, informing school heads and managers of the new allocations.
At a meeting in Rakiraki on Wednesday, the ministry’s director finance, Sukhendra Lal, said they had looked at a number of options.
“We came to this that there will be an impact on all school categories, and not to have an impact on a particular category of school,” he said. “The impact would be felt across all schools generally.”
For the third school term, the ministry has so far paid out only 30 per cent of the grants, with the remaining 70 per cent “to be paid soon”.
Ra High School manager Waisea Lebobo said they needed the pending grant money to pay off creditors, especially when the third term was into its sixth week.
“We have processes to follow and we will have to adjust this policy and make submissions to the Ministry of Economy and then the grants with new adjustments will be paid out,” said Mr Lal.