Free education will succeed, says O’Neill

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says the government will make sure the free education policy does not fail as some critics are making it out to be.
He said there were processes in place to ensure that the policy was successful.
The government will make sure the funds are made available to schools during the second quarter of the year so that the children get a better education.
He said the rollout programme was progressing well with 70% of the schools receiving their funds.
He admitted that many schools faced infrastructure problems but the funds were dispatched according to the provincial education office submissions.
The government has made upfront payments to about 70% of the schools by dispatching K185 million while another K150 million is with BSP to be dispatched to school which have not submitted their bank account details.
He said the process had also bypassed the bureaucrats with the funds going straight to the schools.