Education gets $541.5M, free primary and secondary education

The Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama led government has created history by making the biggest allocation to the Education Sector that will result in education to be made truly free for the people of the country in primary and secondary schools.

It also includes a new initiative for students intending to go to tertiary institutions.

 

A total of $541.5 million is budgeted for the Education Sector which is also the biggest allocation in the 2014 National Budget.

While announcing the National Budget, Commodore Bainimarama said no child will be left behind and no Fijian parent will ever go to bed again worrying about how they will meet their children’s school fees or any other fees. 

From next year, no family will have to pay any tuition fees, textbook fees, building fees, or any other fee usually charged by schools from Year 1 to Year 8. 

To fund this new initiative, the government has allocated $34 million. 

The Prime Minister said schools will now receive $250 a year per child to cover the full cost of tuition. 

This is a dramatic increase from the $30 per child that government currently spends to subsidize tuition fees.

This is an initiative that will benefit the parents and families of 136,000 primary school children. 

For secondary schools, the government will provide $31.5 million for tuition fees. 

This will benefit the parents and families of 66,000 secondary school students.

 

Commodore Bainimarama also said if a school wants to fundraise, it must first seek the approval of the Ministry of Education, and even if approval is given, no family is obligated to contribute.

Low interest government loans to any Fijian student who is accepted at one of the tertiary institutions in Fiji will also be provided from next year. 

The Prime Minister said the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme or TELS will cover up to the full cost of tuition and will not have to be repaid until after a student has graduated and received employment. 

Fijians from families that earn less than $25,000 a year will pay no interest on these loans. 

Those from families that earn between $25,000 and $50,000 a year will pay an interest rate of 0.5 percent, those from families that earn between $50,000 and $100,000 will pay an interest rate of 1 percent, and those from families that earn more than $100,000 will pay an interest rate of 2 percent. 

For the first time ever, the government has also allocated certain courses for which full tertiary scholarships will be granted to the top 600 school leavers. 

Commodore Bainimarama said this will act as a powerful incentive for students to take their studies seriously. 

Allowances will also be available to cover the cost of living expenses for students from lower income families.

This new program is available to all Fijians and will replace the current iTaukei, Multi-Ethnic and PSC scholarships. 

Commodore Bainimarama said this means that every Fijian youth, no matter what their background or where they live, will have the same opportunity to attend university. 

 

Those students who are currently on an iTaukei, Multi-Ethnic and or scholarship will not be affected. 

$26 million will go to continue to support these programs.

$52.5 million has been allocated to the TELS program.

 

 

Substantial pay rises for all of Fiji’s civil servants, including all the disciplined forces have been announced. 

Those civil servants who currently earn less than $15,400 will receive a 23 percent pay rise. 

This will benefit more than 14,000 individuals. 

Those earning between $15,400 and $20,600, will receive a pay rise of 18 percent.

Those civil servants earning between $20,600 and $26,700 will receive a pay rise of 12 percent.

Those civil servants earning between $26,700 and $34,200 will receive a pay rise of 10 percent, benefiting almost 2,000 individuals.

Principal level officers earning between $34,200 and $46,200 will get an 8 percent increase, and those at the Director and Deputy Secretary level will get raises ranging from 7 percent to 4 percent.

Government Wage Earners and Special Police Constables will receive a 10 percent pay increase in addition to the 10 percent increase they received at the beginning of the year.

The government has allocated more than $92 million for these pay increases. 

 

 

Government will pay the wage increments to civil servants through the surplus by the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority.

Permanent Secretary for Finance Filimoni Waqabaca said for their operational costs, they will not have to borrow.

The civil servants pay increase will begin from the 1st of January next year.

 

 

Excise duty on tobacco and alcohol will increase by 10 percent. 

To combat piracy and illegal sale of disks which includes CDs and DVDs, the duty on imported blank disks will increase from $1 to $2 and a new excise duty of $1 per disk will be levied on locally produced disks.

Good news for companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange as their corporate tax rate will be further reduced to 10 percent, from the current 18.5 percent. 

Furthermore, any trading of shares on the South Pacific Stock Exchange will be exempt from any income and capital gains tax. 

The corporate tax rate of 17 percent for a company that moves its regional or global headquarters to Fiji will remain in effect next year. 

A new apprenticeship program will start next year. 

Under this program, any employer who employs an apprentice while he or she is studying will receive a 150 percent tax deduction for salaries paid to that apprentice. 

The business licensing and other fees are currently being assessed where small businesses will pay a lower amount of fees. 

Commodore Bainimarama said the government will also conduct a similar exercise with hotel and liquor licensing fees so that smaller hotels will pay less. 

All current zero-rated duties and import incentives will continue next year.

In order to further stimulate economic development, the Tavua to Korovou region will be declared a tax free zone for other commercial activities and not just agriculture and dairy.

 

Airport Departure Tax will be increased from the current $150 to $200 from January 2014.

The Prime Minister said despite Government’s efforts to reduce the cost of certain commodities through duty reductions, the price of many these items have continued to escalate. 

Commodore Bainimarama said to address this issue, the Ministries of Finance and Industry & Trade, together with FRCA will form a Taskforce in the next few weeks to undertake price monitoring and surveillance on key policy items that have been granted duty concession.

Returning residents who already enjoy duty free concession for normal household items, can now bring their vehicle to Fiji duty free, provided that vehicle is less than 5 years old or is Euro 4 compliant.

Commodore Bainimarama has announced that the existing fiscal duty of 32 percent on food supplements will be reduced to 0 percent, as food supplements include essential vitamins predominantly used by pregnant mothers and senior citizens.

Existing duty of 32 percent on baby feeding bottles will also be reduced to 0 percent. 

 

 

The Fiji Roads Authority which received the highest budget allocation of $422 million will be provided with an increased budget of $454.7 million next year to continue with the nationwide program of road works. 

Major road construction will continue on the Buca Bay road, Moto road, the Sigatoka-Serea road, and the Nabouwalu-Dreketi road, all with funding assistance from the Exim Bank of China. 

The Prime Minister has also revealed that road widening projects will continue on the Nakasi-Nausori highway, with an allocation of $15 million, and in Nadi, with an allocation of $30 million. 

Government is allocating $10 million for the development of rural roads in the rest of the country, especially those that provide access to schools and health centres, and $2.4 million for sealing roads through built-up rural areas. 

Commodore Bainimarama also said that the government will continue with the Korosi-Balaga Bay project to create an alternative route for easier access to Savusavu. 

$3.4 million has been allocated for the upgrade of Wainibokasi Road to Nausori Airport while $9.4 million has been allocated to replace the existing Denarau Bridge. 

Two new vessels will also be purchased to service remote maritime communities and to assist in supplying material and machinery for development works on these islands.

Story by: Fijivillage Team