342 schools across Samoa will benefit from the One Government Grant Fund 2022.
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The grant will involve Government, Mission, and Private schools, Early Childhood Education, Primary, College, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (T.V.E.T.) Levels as well as Special Schools.
The fund will also include assistance to the Samoa Victim Support Group's (S.V.S.G.) School of Hope and the National Council of Early Childhood Education (N.C.E.C.E.).
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture (M.E.S.C.) on Tuesday morning, the Government of Samoa, through Cabinet Decision FK 22(07) issued on the 9th of March 2022, has approved the distribution of $17.7m under the One Government Grant Scheme.
MESC Headquarters at Malifa
Photo: Piui Simi Sesega
Of the 342 schools that will benefit from the One Government Grant Fund 2022, 126 are early Childhood Education, 171 are Primary Schools, 28 Colleges, 4 Technical Vocational Educational Trainings, and 3 Special Schools.
"The Scheme is governed by the OGG Fund Manual and Cabinet Approvals. It is calculated per child and will be released to each school after the signing of the [One Government Grant] Fund Agreement," the statement reads.
"The Fund is released on the condition that 60% is to assist with salaries of all teachers of Mission and Private Schools, while 40% is to assist with the procurement of asset relating to teaching and learning; procurement of student and teacher resources, payment of utilities and other areas as defined in the agreement."
M.E.S.C. and the Ministry of Finance (M.O.F.) had initially planned to conduct the normal awareness workshops and Agreement Signing for the release of the One Government Grant Fund on first week of April but was pushed back due to COVID-19 State of Emergency (S.O.E.) restrictions.
"The two ministries had finalized all preparations and confirm that the Agreement Signing of the [One Government Grant] Fund will commence on Tuesday 26 of April 2022. Five (5) Teams will be deployed for this work, with 2 serving Savaii and 3 in Upolu," the statement reads.
According to the statement, the Schedule for the Agreement Signing for all schools/districts has been posted on the MESC Website and Facebook page, and the Ministry requests the presence of Schools Management Personnel, School Committee Presidents and School Boards Chairman’s at the respective venues and times that are mentioned on the Ministry's website and Facebook page.