$150.5 million for TSLS to fund 9,940 continuing students and 10,830 new students

9,940 students continuing their education and 10,830 new students will receive assistance from the $150.5 million allocated to the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad says that as a responsible government they must ensure that they reap the benefits of their investments.

Professor Prasad says that they are introducing a 50 percent penalty on unpaid deposit periods and if students do not want to complete the deposit period and do not want to pay off the remaining deposit on the allotted amount, a penalty will be applied on the remaining amount.

He says a 50 percent penalty will be applied to the remaining amount of the bail.

The Deputy Prime Minister says the rationale is in the national interest and to get maximum return on investment by allowing the graduates to serve the country.

He says all students must pay off their bail in full, but if they choose to migrate before the bail expires, they will have to pay the remaining amount plus a 50 percent fine before being allowed to leave the country.

Prof. Prasad says if students do not have sufficient funds to repay, the foreign employer should arrange full payment and students can make repayment arrangements with them.

The Deputy Prime Minister says that from 1 August 2024, graduates will not be allowed to make arrangements for bond repayment from abroad unless determined on a case-by-case basis by FRCS and TSLS.

He says the government spends an average of $400,000 on a student overseas scholarship and students with overseas scholarships are given a bond that is 2.5 times the length of their studies, so they want a fair return on their investment in the bond service.

He also says that the minimum cut-off for degree programmes will be 250 points for all other schools and 245 points for schools categorised as rural and maritime.

Professor Prasad said the eligibility requirement for participation in this scheme will be increased from 65 percent GPA to 50 percent and will be extended to diploma-level TVET students, in addition to current degree students.

The Board of the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) welcomes the budget announcement and the Coalition Government’s commitment to strengthening Fiji’s future.

Ro Teimumu Kepa, Chairman of TSLS, says that as a developing country, Fiji must continuously and aggressively invest in talent development to maintain the supply of skills in the labour market.

Ro Teimumu says the TSLS board and management look forward to working with all key stakeholders at all levels to further build Fiji’s human capital.

Professor Prasad says they are introducing a new scheme to fund twenty students to pursue doctoral and master’s degrees in priority research areas at selected universities in Australia.

He says tuition fees will be borne by the Australian university, while the government will provide partial support to cover airfare, scholarships and other related costs.

He says the government thanks the participating Australian universities for this great collaboration and has allocated $1.4 million for this purpose.

Secondly, the Deputy Prime Minister says that they are also introducing a merit-based foreign scholarship for a postgraduate diploma in specialized areas and an amount of US$1.6 million will be allocated to finance 20 in-service students to pursue specialized postgraduate degrees in healthcare and veterinary medicine. and engineering studies.

Prof. Prasad says that they have allocated scholarships to 300 students who can pursue Certificate III, IV or Diploma Level 5 programmes with our industry partners such as Energy Fiji Limited, Marriott Academy, FSC, Telecom and some other major employers who will come on board, adding that employers will have the opportunity to employ these students upon successful completion of the programme.

He says the fourth new scheme is a grant-based support to help our graduates start businesses and create jobs, rather than job seekers, and this is where they as a government should support the young and creative entrepreneurs.

The Deputy Prime Minister announced that the Government will allocate $10,000 per student to 30 TSLS-sponsored graduates or final semester students to pursue training and start a business with the support of the Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation.