Vanuatu's Minister of Education, Bob Loughman, says the government has not reneged on a promise to pay student school fees in disaster zones but is trying to take careful measures to prevent the funds from being abused again.
Estellio Bae, who is the principal of Isangel College on Tanna, says most of his students have been sent home because of unpaid fees.
Mr Bae says most of those students are from the White Sands area and the minister says they will not be considered until later in the year.
Mr Loughman says the disaster school subsidies they promised to pay to students in Tanna and Tafea provinces will total up to 330,000 US dollars.
It is with concern that this got out of hand. We have to be very, very careful in how we disperse those funds. Because in the beginning it was being misused So we have to be very, very careful how we get it out to the schools that really need.
Bob Loughman
