Two teachers who established a tuition service on the Barter 4 Better Nadi Facebook page say they have received a lot of interest.
Ana Kubunakoro and Ilisoni Ratusai said they set up Study Point Tuition Centre in the West to help children with phonics.
They said they provided tuition in exchange for groceries and other goods.
Mrs Kubunakoro said many students struggled with phonics, reading and writing.
“A parent added me to the Barter for Better Fiji Facebook group and I realised the amount of help we could provide during the COVID-19 crisis as most parents have been laid off or had hours reduced,” she said.
“Our main focus is to help the children from ages three to secondary level.
“Over 30 children have shown interest and we teach five students per hour to ensure they receive our full attention while also following the health protocols that are in place.”
Mr Ratusai, who is the Barter 4 Better Nadi administrator and a teacher, said the online platform was an effective way of promoting education.
“I collaborated with teacher Ana as she is an expert in phonics while my specialty is teaching English and looking into corrections and minor errors.
“We used to have cash tuition before but because of the COVID-19 crisis and burden on parents, we have used this platform to not only encourage people to trade but also to promote education.”
Mr Ratusai said so far, parents had exchanged tuition for groceries, farm produce, snacks and seafood.
The centre has also extended its services to Lautoka and Suva.
