Riya Mala 
Minister for Finance, Commerce and Business Development Esrom Immanuel. [Photo: FILE]
Minister for Finance, Commerce and Business Development Esrom Immanuel says the government is working to ensure Back-to-School financial assistance reaches families efficiently as applications are still being processed.
He reassured parents that applications will continue to be processed until all are verified, addressing concerns about delays in the second week of school.
Immanuel also stressed the importance of moving away from the paper application system to the electronic application system in order to avoid these issues.
He emphasized that teachers and the Ministry of Education must ensure accurate application forms, as errors can cause disputes after payments.
“Yes, we have probably tried to move away from paper to electronic forms of application. That is much easier. It also helps schools to be prepared when the assistance is released. Especially this year, it came out near the opening, when it was almost school break. So we will also review the timing.”
With around 9,000 applications still pending, Immanuel says lessons from this year will help improve future schemes, including better timing of assistance to align with school openings.
The government continues to encourage parents and guardians to ensure their application details are correct, while assuring that the Back-to-School assistance program will continue until all eligible families receive support.
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