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Students wishing to be assisted through the Government’s free bus fare scheme next year have been instructed to fill out an application form in order to qualify for the assistance.

All students in Years 1-13 whose parents’ or guardians’ combined household income is $16,000 or less, are eligible to apply for transport assistance.

The Education Ministry will be piloting an optional online transport assistance application process for students in Years 10-13 for the new academic year where parents and guardians can register and apply for transport assistance using a new online parent or guardian portal.

The online portal will offer a streamlined application process for families and schools, and provide improved communication to parents/guardians on the status of their children’s transport applications.

This portal can be found at studentparentsportal.edu.gov.fj.

It is noted that some families with students in Years 10-13 will not have internet access or email addresses to register and apply online. Therefore, it will still be possible for these families to submit a paper application for transport assistance.

According to the ministry, students will only be eligible for the 2023 transport assistance if the combined income of their parents is $16,000 or less.

The ministry further states that some families with students in Years 10 to 13 will not have internet access or email addresses to register and apply online.

Therefore, it will still be possible for these families to submit a paper application for transport assistance.

Parents and guardians for students in Years One to Nine for the 2023 academic year are required to only submit paper applications for transport assistance to schools while the online transport application process will be offered to students in these grades at a later stage.

According to the ministry, parents and guardians must submit an online application or paper transport application to their child’s school with all the required supporting documentation by December 9th, 2022.

The Government is providing $33 million in transport assistance to students for the 2022/2023 financial year.