Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697739415455.pdf (Fiji)
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, HERITAGE AND ARTS RESPONSE TO THE WRITTEN PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION BY THE HON.

MIKAELE LEAWERE Parliament GOVERNMENT BUILDING Thursday May 2021 Question 117/2021 Can the Minister update Parliament on the transport subsidy and how many schools have been assisted through this subsidy, by Division.

I take this opportunity to respond to the written question posted by the Hon.

Leawere on the transport subsidy and how many schools have been assisted through this subsidy by Division.
Response This initiative was introduced by the Government to enable students to gain access and equity to quality educational facilities within their home zone schools.

This initiative is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal 4 - Quality Education and to the National Development Plan 3.1.5“Quality Education for All” that is to Ensure every Fijian Student has equal access to education at all levels.
This focus on education supports the development of a knowledge-based society that will result in positive ripples throughout the economy through improvements in efficiency and productivity, the rate of diffusion and adoption of technology, and research and innovation.

The Ministry’s travel assistance programme is for students from low-income families which started in 2009 with the Bus Fare Assistance Scheme.
The Ministry, in 2010, made provisions to extend the transport assistance scheme to students that used other modes of transportation.

Children were provided with transport vouchers which included bus services and rural service license (RSL – mini vans, carriers, trucks and boats).

In order to make education equitable for students in the remote interiors and maritime areas, the Ministry since 2014 has assisted a total of 123 schools and 46,846 students through the boat and outboard assistance.
Breakdown of the 123 schools according to the four Divisions is provided in the table below.

Boat Assistance Since 2014 Division Eastern Northern Central Western Total No.

of Schools 67 25 13 18 123 With the introduction of cashless payments in the bus industry, bus coupons were replaced by E- ticketing cards in the financial year 2017/2018.

The RSL voucher distribution has since continued for students that use other modes of transportation.
The E-ticketing system came into place in the financial year 2017/2018 and the standard recording of the transport assistance program per school calendar is available from 2018.

The table summarizes the transport assistance provided to the schools by schooling year, geographical divisions and the number of students assisted by assistance types (E-ticketing and RSL Vouchers).
Year 2018 2019 2020 2021 - Term 1 Division Central Eastern Northern Western Central Eastern Northern Western Central Eastern Northern Western Central Eastern Northern Western No of Schools E-ticketing 19,350 - 11,223 26,155 27,326 - 12,302 32,051 21,685 - 11,483 27,617 15,377 - 8,249 24,542 509 246 396 615 514 242 406 615 513 242 406 621 514 242 406 623 RSL Vouchers 8,122 3,208 8,807 8,154 10,667 4,330 9,034 9,188 10,192 4,235 8,370 8,580 10,034 2,706 6,441 9,524 As tabulated above, the Ministry continues to provide assistance to students in the current schooling year with approximately 77,000 students assisted in Term 1.
Since 2017, the Fijian Government has made significant investments in assisting students with transport.

The table below provides Transport Assistance allocation and usage.

Descriptio n 2017-2018 2018-2019 Transport Assistance Budget Actual $27,620 $ 20,00 ,274.68 0,000.00 Budget Actual $ 29,46 $ 25,00 8,768.08 0,000.00 Covid 19 Supplementary Budget 2019-2020 Budget Actual $ 15,17 $ 20,00 7,878.20 0,000.00 2020- 2021 Budget $ 21,44 0,800.00 Yours sincerely Hon.
Rosy Akbar Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts