Education Minister Doctor Mahendra Reddy says schools are having normal operations and the only issue currently being faced by some students is that they have to share the text books.
Doctor Reddy says the printing of the remaining text books could not be done last year as they were waiting for all students to return the text books.
Doctor Reddy says they expect the text books given to students, to last for at least 5 years.
He says the Opposition should understand the situation.
Fijivillage has been told that some parents are buying the text books as they do not want their children to be affected by the shortage of books.
The Education Minister stresses that the parents do not have to buy the books as the teachers are dealing with the issue.
The Leader of the National Federation Party Professor Biman Prasad says the Education Minister should have drawn up proper plans to ensure that there is no shortage of text books.
Prasad says he is glad that Finance Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has addressed the issue.
Prasad also says that Doctor Reddy’s comments that they managed to achieve things without an allocated budget, are ridiculous.
Meanwhile Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says there will be a delay in the delivery of textbooks to schools this year.
Sayed‑Khaiyum says the delay is due to the Ministry of Education officers getting a late quotation from 3 different printing companies.
He says some people at the Fiji Procurement Office may also need to be questioned following the investigation by FICAC.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds that they have also discovered that when these printing companies were asked to deliver or asked to give a quotation, it was not based on a timeline.
He says they will now call for tenders to print textbooks for the next 3 years.
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