PARENTS have been urged to use the Government’s ‘Back to School’ $200 assistance for the right purpose and not abuse it.
Fenc Fiji’s head of operations, Nirmala Nambiar, said this while pleading with parents on the need to support their children’s education.
“We have witnessed that parents, as soon as they receive it, go and buy food, and they have clearly disclosed that the money has been used to pay the bills for the house,” she said. “They don’t have money saved for the child to send the child to school. The $200 is good and I’m happy with them releasing it just before school because it goes to the right purpose.
“Please use that for the purpose it’s being given for, and make your child look good, the child feels good, and the child lives up to the expectation of the parent, to make them prosper in their livelihood because it’s the parent’s responsibility.”
On whether the Government should issue vouchers instead of the $200 cash, she said: “Again, what they purchased from the voucher is a question. You know, you can’t engage resources. I mean, if I get a voucher and I go to a supermarket, you are able to purchase bags, books, everything else you need to go to school, and then you provide extra things, you don’t know what, for the home, which is not supposed to be included in the voucher.”
The organisation is also planning to expand its assistance to students in the years to come.
“I’m looking at a time where we have money to provide for the uniforms and shoes.”
Missing documents stall school aid applications
OUT of the 11,605 back-to-school applications received by Foundation for the Education of the Needy Children in Fiji (FENC Fiji), 5780, were not approved.
The organisation’s head of operations, Nirmala Nambiar, said the unapproved applications were due to missing supporting documents or incomplete forms.
“So we have 5825 students who will be assisted this year with the $300,000 grant from the Government,” she said.
She explained that the key income threshold is based on $100 per week, and applications are also assessed based on the family’s overall situation, including where parents are working and whether children are staying with grandparents.
“All applications must be completed properly before assessment.
We were very surprised at the number of applications submitted without supporting evidence.”
She noted that some applications were submitted as a single form with no attachments.
“We cannot be held accountable for incomplete submissions. I truly sympathise with the children affected, but we could not make a decision to support them. Applications were rejected due to incomplete documentation, lack of proof of income, exceeding the income threshold, or insufficient evidence of family vulnerability.”
Ms Nambiar added that applications have increased over the years, particularly from rural and maritime areas. To make the process easier, FENC Fiji has partnered with the Ministry of Rural Development.
“We now have divisional coordinators in the West and the North who liaise with stakeholders and communities to provide assistance where needed.
With the ministry handling distribution, parents will be contacted when their packages are ready for collection. This has made the process much easier for most parents.”
