THE Free Education Grant has decreased by 35 per cent since its inception in 2014, says Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Muniappa Goundar.
He said the union hoped to see an improvement of the grant in the 2026-2027 national budget.
“We also requested for an increase in the Free Education Grant because from 2014 when it was brought in by the Bainimarama Government it had gone down by 35 per cent,” said Mr Goundar.
“So, what we are asking for them to retain that.
“Restore the 35 per cent because the cost of living and the cost of resources in schools are going up.”
Mr Goundar highlighted kindergartens were among schools that were affected by the low grant.
“For kindergartens, $50 is given to each student per term.
“That is nothing because what we are seeing now that kindergarten students are kept in schools throughout the day and so the cost in manning these schools have increased.”
He said with the new salary base for early childhood education teachers, some schools keep students throughout the day resulting in a packed classroom.
“There are some schools that ran morning and afternoon sessions and because now they are to keep students longer, there is no extension of classrooms, so the children are being packed into the classroom like sardines.
“These are the complaints that we are getting.
“So, it is very important that we need to look at because there are varying issues that keep coming up and one of them is the lack of resources because of the low amount of FEG each school gets.”
