Parents raise concerns over delays in $200 back-to-school assistance

Some parents in parts of Vanua Levu have raised concerns over delays in receiving the Government’s $200 back-to-school assistance, with several saying they were forced to travel long distances to follow up on their applications.

Dibogi Nabibi of Togaviti, Vaturova, said two of her children in primary school had received the assistance, but her eldest child had not.

“The two in primary school attend Vunavou Primary School, while my eldest, who is in Year 11 this year, attends Holy Family Secondary School,” she said.

Ms Nabibi said her eldest child would be attending Saint Bede’s College in Savusavu this year and the family had been waiting in the village for the payment.

“Since school had already started and we still had not received it, I decided to come to the ministry to enquire,” she said.

She was later informed that the ministry had not received the application for her eldest child.

“I was told to fill out the form again and resubmit it. This is the same form my husband filled out last year before the school year ended,” she said.

Ms Nabibi said she left her village at 5am and arrived in Labasa around 8am to resolve the issue.

Another parent, Mere Mata Tuiserene, said none of her four children had received the assistance.

“None of my children in Year 11, Year 9, Year 4 and Year 3 has received the $200 back-to-school assistance,” she said.

Ms Tuiserene said she had travelled from Naduna several times to enquire at the Northern Divisional Education Office.

“We visited the office two weeks ago but did not receive a positive response. Because school had already started, we decided to buy our children’s school items using our own money,” she said.

Mere Mata Tuiserene raise concerns over $200 back-to-school assistance delays in Labasa January 27, 2026.

Photo: Devisha Prakash

She added that the application forms had been filled out last year when they were distributed by the school.

Northern Divisional Education Office executive officer Jaucoro Sucu said some students remained on the waiting list, while others whose names were on the distribution list had not yet received their funds.

“In some cases, the forms were not filled out properly or were incomplete,” Mr Sucu said.

“In other cases, parents had changed SIM cards or the mobile numbers provided were not registered under the parents’ names.”

He said in some instances the mobile number belonged to a guardian, which caused delays during verification by mobile service providers.

“When Vodafone or Digicel verify the numbers and find they are not registered under the parent’s name, the application is put on hold,” he said.

Mr Sucu said most affected students were included in upcoming batches of fund releases, while only a small number of cases required further verification by schools.

“Verification by head teachers before submission is very important,” he said.