No plans yet to raise $200 Back-to-School assistance: Immanuel

The Government has no immediate plans to increase the $200 Back-to-School support assistance, according to Minister for Finance Esrom Immanuel.

Mr Immanuel said the current amount was sufficient.

When asked whether there were plans to raise the assistance, he responded: “For the time being, it’s enough and later on we’ll think about it.”

Mr Immanuel made the statement during the launch of the 2026 Back-to-School programme, which opens for applications tomorrow. A total of $40 million has been allocated to assist eligible families.

Concerns were also raised about businesses raising prices for school-related items during the payment period, a practice known as price gouging.

Mr Immanuel acknowledged that such instances had occurred in the past and assured that measures would be taken to prevent it from happening again.

“Those instances sometimes happen and we have FCCC (Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission) who is our partner in that regard,” he said.

“We’ll ensure that those instances don’t happen again.”

The FCCC is responsible for monitoring prices and ensuring traders do not engage in unfair trade practices, particularly during peak shopping periods when government assistance is distributed.

Payments for the 2026 Back-to-School assistance will commence from January 16 via M-PAiSA and MyCash, giving families approximately two weeks to prepare before schools reopen on January 26.

Applications will open tomorrow and will close on December 12, providing parents and guardians five weeks to complete and submit their forms to schools.

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