The Ministry of Education has reported that the processing of the $200 Back-to-School assistance has been hindered by 9,800 data issues, which have slowed down payments to families. Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro indicated that the delays can be primarily attributed to inaccuracies or incomplete information provided by parents at the school level, rather than any shortcomings from the officials’ side.
Out of the problematic applications identified, the Ministry has successfully verified and resolved 5,507 cases, which have now been sent to the Ministry of Finance for disbursement. Among the issues addressed, the Ministry reported that they resolved 3,811 cases where multiple names were linked to a single phone number, corrected 352 private school discrepancies, updated 91 incorrect phone numbers, and identified 237 previously overlooked missed payments that were returned for release.
Moreover, Ministry teams have manually rectified 1,142 applications with missing or erroneous information and processed an additional 1,016 manual entries submitted to headquarters. Minister Radrodro emphasized that the payment process is conducted solely by the Ministry of Finance and proceeds only after thorough verification checks are complete.
Another significant challenge causing delays is related to parents being unreachable. Radrodro pointed out that many parents either do not answer calls or have phone numbers that have been redirected when the helpdesk attempts to verify information.
Despite these hurdles, the Ministry confirmed that Batch 2, encompassing over 1,000 applications, was paid out recently, with efforts continuing throughout the week to address the remaining cases. “We are committed to every child,” Radrodro asserted, highlighting the importance of accurate information provided at the school level to ensure timely assistance for families.
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