Late school submissions, incorrect details delay back-to-school assistance payments

Many delays in the release of Back to School Assistance (BTSA) payments were caused by schools failing to submit applications before the deadline, the Ministry of Education says.

More than 3,000 parents and guardians sought assistance on the first day of dedicated back to school assistance support operations at Waisomo House yesterday, where ministry officials identified unsubmitted school applications as the most common issue.

The ministry said the majority of cases involved schools not submitting applications on time, parents or guardians missing Ministry of Finance deadlines, and incorrect mobile numbers or claims of wrong applications being lodged for students.

“All cases were attended to and verified,” the ministry said, adding that support operations would continue at Waisomo House until the start of the school year.

The ministry said payments are released by the Ministry of Finance after verification and clearance, before being distributed through Vodafone’s MPaisa, Digicel’s MyCash or postal pays at post offices.

It said it was working with the Ministry of Finance to ensure all 200,000 applicants were verified and cleared for payment.

Year 13 payments will be processed later, once enrolments are finalised by schools and verified by the FEMIS team before being submitted to the Ministry of Finance.

To assist working parents and guardians, back to school assistance support operations at Waisomo Basement Operations in the Central Division are open from 8.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Parents and guardians outside the Central Division can seek assistance through helplines operating during the same hours across the Western, Northern and Eastern divisions.

Support outside the Central Division

Parents and guardians outside the Central Division can contact the BTSA helpline from 8.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays.

Western Division

Nadi/Lautoka/Yasawa – 8669110

Nadroga/Navosa – 9899480

Ba/Tavua – 9986589

Rakiraki – 8015551

Northern Division

Macuata – 9023839

Bua – 9585925

Cakaudrove – 9428424

Eastern Division

9744402

3312912

Ministry of Education helpline

9986839

9980079

9986069

3320551

Applications not submitted by schools

The ministry has also advised parents and guardians whose applications were not submitted or cleared by schools to email their applications and supporting documents to moe.backtoschool@gmail.com or edu_it@govnet.gov.fj.

The ministry said it remained committed to ensuring all eligible students receive support for the 2026 academic year.