TISI Sangam Fiji national president Parveen Kumar Bala questioned why schools were restricted to using only 30 per cent of their allocated funds, despite higher costs for some projects.
Mr Bala raised this question during the TISI Sangam Fiji Heads of Schools and management seminar in Lautoka on Saturday.
“There has been an issue with us as an organisation and that is regarding the announcement that was made during the budget on the use of the funds that is allocated to the respective schools,” he said.
“So, if you can just highlight this and clarify whether the announcement that was made during the budget is going to happen, or whether there is a directive from the Ministry of Education just to use that 30 per cent.”
Divisional Education Officer West Napolioni Locoloco said schools had been notified about the possible relaxation of fund allocation rules.
“If you have plans to utilise it, you may need to inform us with your detailed plan and inform the district office, and we will inform the office of the permanent secretary, and obviously, the minister, that you would like to use that allocation for maintenance and repairs,” he said.
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro said the school handbooks had clear guidelines for the utilisation of grants.
“This year, we see that a lot of schools need to be upgraded, a lot of new projects, new classrooms, so nothing has changed,” he said.
“All you have to do is give your plan for how much of the grant you wish to utilise and get the necessary approval on the utilisation of this grant for this particular project.”
Mr Radrodro said school heads needed to specify how much of the grant they wished to use, and that would need to be supported by their submission.
“If it’s a project that is a new building, then what is the total cost of the repairs and maintenance. It’s just a clarity of information that will allow us to give you the necessary go-ahead.”
