Plans to begin free education for primary education right up to form 3 has been formalized by the government.
Minister for Finance and Treasury, Snyder Rini, announced this while delivering his budget speech on Monday.The Finance Minister told Parliament that free education should begin next year.
All schools will be receiving grants from the government and also with assistance from the Taiwanese government, according to the Finance Minister.
Mr. Rini said that the government is working towards providing free primary education for all students up to form three at a cost of five million dollars a year, adding that negotiation with donors to finance the policy is making good progress.
He said that CNURA government will review teachers' payroll to ensure they get paid correctly as some teachers sometimes never attend to classes and some teachers are not paid at their right level.
The government allocated 10 million dollars towards schools damaged by tsunami and earthquake in Choiseul and western provinces under the 2009 National budget.
Four (4) million dollars has been allocated to the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development to buy necessary education material and additional text books, said Mr Rini.
He revealed that the Republic of China will also provide 16.7 million dollars in scholarships and training awards under the 2009 budget. He added that SICHE and the USP will also be upgraded at a cost of 3 million dollars each.
Source: National Express