Education Minister Aseri Radrodro has addressed concerns regarding the delays in the $200 back-to-school assistance payments, attributing the holdup primarily to incorrect information submitted by parents. Minister Radrodro stated that while the funds are ready for disbursement, processing payments becomes impossible when applications contain errors such as incorrect phone numbers, unregistered SIM cards, or missing identification details like FEMIS ID or BRN numbers.
To combat these issues, the Ministry’s fraud prevention system automatically flags discrepancies, halting payments until the necessary corrections are made. As part of their efforts to resolve these issues, Ministry staff have conducted over 3,000 calls to parents for detail verification, emphasizing the importance of accurate information at the school level.
The Ministry of Education has identified approximately 9,800 data discrepancies, with 5,507 applications now verified and forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for payment. Minister Radrodro reported that many problems have already been addressed, including issues stemming from multiple names linked to a single phone number, discrepancies in private school registrations, incorrect contact information, and previous missed payments.
“We are committed to every child. But the process starts at the school gate with a pen and a form. Accurate lodging is the only way to ensure timely payment. We ask for cooperation and accuracy, rather than misplaced frustration,” stated Radrodro.
He also emphasized that the Ministry of Finance is responsible for processing payments only after the verification process is complete. As of Wednesday, batch 2 payments encompassing over 1,000 applications have been processed, with ongoing work to address the remaining cases. Minister Radrodro is urging parents to ensure the information they provide is accurate to avoid further delays in assistance payments.