THE Free Education Grant (FEG) policy is failing Fiji’s students.
While officialdom touts the policy, the reality on the ground tells a story of deteriorating school buildings, unmet technology needs and declining educational outcomes as ill-considered policies and chronic underfunding continue to compromise the future of the children. A survey of 107 school leaders nationwide reveals a sobering reality — since the FEG’s introduction in 2014, its real value has eroded by 30.7 per cent because of inflation and nominal reductions — meaning schools today can only purchase about two-thirds of what they could when the program began. The survey revealed that more than four out of five respondents (80.4 per cent) find the current FEG insufficient to meet the basic needs of schools.
The consequences are visible, not only in dilapidated infrastructure and declining teacher morale, but also in educational outcomes.
