Three-months after severe Tropical Cyclone Gita badly damaged schools on Tongatapu and 'Eua, a relief grant of $3.4 million pa’anga was handed out today by the Tongan Government to non-government schools to help repair the damage.

Prime Minister Hon ‘Akilisi Pohiva handed over the cheque to Rev Dr Mele’ana Puloka the Director for the Free Wesleyan Church Education System who represented directors present, at the Cabinet Room. The cheque was  taken from a government Tropical Cyclone Gita Relief Fund account.

Nine non-government school systems were included in this grant, including the Catholic Church, Anglican Church, Seventh Day Adventist, Equippers and Tokaikolo Church.

PM Pohiva said the money handed would be divided among them depending on how severe the damage was and the amount would vary from one school to another. The exact figures for each school were not released.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance in a statement said this $3.4 million pa’anga fund is aimed for minor repair works for school facilities, sanitation and refurbishment needs.

Another $1.3 million pa’anga has been allocated for Government schools repairs through the Ministry of Education and work is currently underway.

The Tropical Cyclone Gita education reconstruction program totalled around $30.5 million pa’anga.

Government had requested the World Bank's support of $30 million pa’anga to fund reconstruction. The fund will help with upgrading the damaged school buildings to provide resilience to natural hazards and minimize future impact on students' education and less cost for future reconstruction, said the Ministry.

Tropical Cyclone Gita in February, damaged around 75% of primary schools, 88% of secondary schools and 56% of tertiary institutes across Tongatapu and ‘Eua, a damage assessment concluded.

A total of 109 out of 150 schools with around 23,000 students at every level were affected.