Over 220,000 students from early childhood to secondary school are expected to benefit from the $200 per child back-to-school initiative as announced by the government today.

Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad says the government has set aside $45 million in the 2023-2024 budget for this initiative to alleviate the financial burden on families and ensure all students have access to the resources they need.

Earlier this year, 223,475 students from economically challenged backgrounds, with parental incomes less than $50,000, were provided with crucial financial assistance, receiving a total payout of $44.7 million.

“The application for back-to-school support will open on Monday, November 6th, and close on Friday, December 22nd, 2023. This means that parents and guardians will have seven weeks to gather all the required documentation and make the application.”

Over 220,000 students from early childhood to secondary school are expected to benefit from the $200 back-to-school initiative as announced by the government today.

Prasad says parents will have enough time to prepare students for the new school year.

“The Ministry of Finance will start making the payment on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. So that parents and guardians have enough time, they will have more than two weeks after the payment is made to prepare the children for the 2024 school year, which will start on January 29, 2024. The completed application forms will need to be submitted to the schools for verification and updating on the FEMIS.”

Education Minister Aseri Radrodro  is also urging parents to fill out the application forms accurately.

“Parents should complete the form accurately and submit it to their child’s school as soon as possible to facilitate the timely and accurate processing of these forms.”

The Finance Minister says payments for Year 12 students progressing to Year 13 will be done once Year 12 results are out and they are enrolled in Year 13.

He says that for students entering early childhood education, they will need to be enrolled in the school before applying for the initiative.

According to Prasad, parents and guardians can obtain the hardcopy application from the child’s school or actually download from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance website.