Parents should not misuse the $200 back-to-school support payment from the Government, says Empower Pacific CEO Patrick Morgam.
“It is a great initiative, which shows that the Government is very much interested in the education of our children,” he said.
Mr Morgam said his advice to parents was to use the money for the purpose for which it was given.
“The child will benefit if the parents use the money for the purpose intended and be transparent.
“We applaud this decision from the Government as a lot of people would have used their savings during the festive season and would stress over school stationeries and other materials.”
Yesterday Minister of Finance Prof Biman Prasad said in a statement his ministry had given $40.2 million to 200,760 students under the initiative.
“Parents and guardians of ECE to Year 12 students can now access the $200 per child payment through their MPAiSA or MyCASH accounts, and those in the maritime areas can obtain the funds from their nearest Post Fiji agency,” said Prof Prasad.
He said the second round of payments would include 8200 applications which are currently on hold, for students yet to be enrolled in Year 13 as they await their Year 12 exam results.
Vodafone Fiji public relations manager Fozia Muktar confirmed they had received the funds and had successfully transferred them to the individual beneficiaries.
“SMS has been sent out to the respective beneficiaries, confirming the transfer of funds to their accounts,” said Ms Muktar.
