Gov’t provides secondary school fees relief [1]
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - 16:00. Updated on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - 16:10.
The Tongan Government will pay for the second term school fees for all students in government and non-government secondary schools from Forms 1 to 7 through the government’s Education CoViD-19 Relief Assistance.
The Ministry of Education and Training announced the assistance on 5 May to help many Tongan families who may be experiencing financial hardship from the dual impacts of CoViD-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold.
Those who have not yet paid Term 2 school fees, no longer need to.
Those who have already paid their school fees for the whole year will be reimbursed the Term 2 fees. And those who have only paid term 2 school fees, will have these fees credited towards Term 3 fees.
However, school fees paid through the SET Project’s School Fees are not eligible.
The Ministry also provided other ways to relieve financial pressure, including providing free public transport for students during the first three weeks of school (Term 2) and extending the due date for school fee payments.
Despite the economic disruptions and challenges, the Ministry said education and training of Tongan children would continue to ensure they are not adversely affected.