342 Schools to get $17.7m under the One Government Grant Scheme

APIA, SAMOA – 27 APRIL 2022: The Government will distribute $17.7m tala under the One Government Grant Scheme to assist with the effective provision of teaching and learning by three hundred and forty two schools around the country

The Grant covers Government, Mission and Private Schools and particularly for Early Childhood, Primary, College and TVET Levels as well as Special Schools.

A total of 342 schools will benefit from the OGG Fund in this school calendar year 2022.  These include:-

• 126 – Early Childhood Education

• 171 – Primary Schools

• 38 – Colleges

• 4 – Technical Vocational Educational Trainings

• 3 – Special Schools

The Fund also includes assistance to the School of Hope (Samoa Victim Support) as well as the National Council of Early Childhood Education (NCECE).

The Scheme is governed by the OGG Fund Manual and Cabinet Approvals that is calculated per child and will be released to each school after the signing of the OGG Fund Agreement.

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.

The Ministry of Education Sports and Culture and the Ministry of Finance had initially planned to conduct the normal awareness workshops and Agreement Signing for the release of the OGG Fund on first week of April 2022.  However, this was pushed back due to COVID-19 SOE restrictions.

The two ministries had finalized all preparations and confirm that the Agreement Signing of the OGG Fund commenced today, Tuesday 26 of April 2022. Five (5) Teams will be deployed for this work, with 2 serving Savaii and 3 in Upolu.

The Schedule for the Agreement Signing for all schools/districts has been posted on the MESC Website and Facebook page. The Schools Management Personnel, School Committee Presidents and School Boards Chairman’s are requested to be at the respective venues and times as mentioned on MESC websites www.mesc.gov.ws and Facebook page.