Praneeta Prakash 
The Ministry of Education is urging parents and guardians to ensure their applications for the $200 back-to-school support program are filled out accurately and submitted on time.
The deadline for the application was extended until this Friday following consultation between the Ministry of Education and Finance Ministry.
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro says they have had instances in the past where parents did not receive the assistance despite their child being eligible.
“We would like to, first of all, encourage all those that have yet to fill the form to go back to school to fill in the forms on time and liaise with the teachers, liaise with the heads of school to ensure that the forms are not only filled on time but filled accurately with the right information, the right phone numbers.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad says over 220,000 applications were processed last year and a similar number is expected for 2025.
“I am urging all the parents to check if their children are eligible, that their children’s application is already there because we are going to process this as quickly as possible.”
The Finance Minister also highlighted the program’s effectiveness in the past two years.The program aims to assist families with income less than $50,000 in covering school essentials like bags, books, uniforms, and shoes for their children from preschool to Form 7.
