ONLY 86 OUT OF 450 SCHOOLS PAID FPE GRANTS

MBABANE – A total of 364 primary schools in country remain unpaid, while 86 have been paid.
The above figures were revealed by the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Education and Training, Nanikie Mnisi. Currently there are around 623 public primary schools in the country. Mnisi said there are 11 out of 167 schools paid in the Manzini Region, 19 out of 149 in Shiselweni Region and 56 out of 134 in the Lubombo Region.The PS said the number of schools paid in the Hhohho Region could not be ascertained.Mnisi said as the Ministry of Education and Training, they are aware of the fact that the payment of the free primary education (FPE) is still pending on their side. She said the Treasury Department is still working on facilitating the transfers for some of the remaining schools.

However, she said the ministry did everything possible to speed up the process, adding that the Treasury Department has limited staff and is unable to facilitate everything. Mnisi was responding to this publication after she was asked about the situation in schools regarding food supply and operations the following Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) statement that there is no food electricity and water in some schools.According to the SNAT Secretary General Lot Vilakati, school bank accounts are reportedly dry. The SG said this is because government has not fulfilled its obligation of paying all monies due to schools.

Documentation

She said the ministry did its job and for the past three months, however, the officers who are capturing data and submitting to the Treasury Department for checking and approval whereby some of the documentation is turned back. “I can confirm that our officers have been turned back about three times by the Treasury.” Mnisi said it is not an issue of their office’s inefficiency, but were stuck with the work due to the fact that Treasury is understaffed under the department responsible to finalise the payments. Meanwhile, she said there is no food crisis in schools, as it was delivered to all schools before they were closed last term.

Mnisi said in essence, the food delivered should last the schools at least 30 days or more. She said it is impossible that in the two weeks when food was delivered to the schools before they closed is finished.  Mnisi said they will be delivering food for the third term probably in the next coming two weeks. “We deliver the food as per the terms due to the hiked food prices, yet the budget remains the same.” She said they delivered according to what the budget limited them to, adding that if it is 30 days, they covered just that, regardless that school days could be 50 or more. Mnisi said the ministry is currently handicapped financially. The PS said some schools have developed a plan on how they can supplement government’s effort and have vegetable gardens and poultry projects among other things to mitigate the situation.  “It is only those schools that do not engage in agricultural projects and also do not have arable land to cultivate which have challenges with food.”

Projects

Mnisi said they encourage schools to have supplementary projects on the side to assist government as these were emaSwati children they were supporting. She said the schools should not dump everything with government, because the same funds that bought the food were citizens’ tax. Furthermore, she encouraged the teachers in schools to use the food sparingly as if it is their own household. “In the households food is not misused, dumped in waste bins or offered for donations.” Likewise, she said the schools are expected to guard against the above mentioned not to happen in the food supplies meant to be provided for the pupils.  This, she said will assist learners to be able to eat while in school for high concentration levels in the classrooms. Mnisi said the current term is critical and they do not expect learners to starve, because they will soon be revising and sitting the final examinations.

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