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18 percent of students under the bus fare subsidy are yet to redeem their bus cards.

Education Minister Viliame Gavoka revealed this while responding to a question on the status of the redemption of student bus cards in parliament this morning.

The Minister says that 63,454 out of 77,539 students have successfully redeemed their bus cards for Term One this year.

Education Minister Viliame Gavoka

Gavoka says those students who have yet to redeem their cards are yet to fulfil the requirement set by the Education Ministry.

“The non-verification of student applications in families is a factor; one of the reasons is a change of cards due to loss or damage, and however, the new card number is not submitted to headquarters, who are then not able to submit it to Vodafone for loading of funds.”

Gavoka also states that certain 2023 subsidized bus cardholders have not applied for this year.

He adds that they may have a balance from last year and use it until it lasts; however, since they have not applied for this year, their card has not been topped up.

The Education Minister states that they are working closely with heads of schools to ensure eligible students apply for bus fare subsidies in a timely manner to avoid inconvenience.

Gavoka reiterates that school bus cards are only eligible for those households whose combined income is below $16,000 or less per year.