Tertiary institutions will now be required to inform the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service (TSLS) about “at-risk” bonded students who fail to meet academic standards. This is one of the major changes in the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (Budget Amendment) Bill 2024. The amendments also address the clearance of former TSLS students’ bonds and penalize those legally bound to TSLS who do not intend to fulfill their service obligations.
Education Minister Aseri Radrodro defined at-risk students as those who start underperforming in assignments and assessments from the beginning. He stated that this measure would ensure that tertiary institutions provide learning support and remedial programs, aiming to reduce failure and dropout rates. According to reports, $160 million had been wasted by 21,685 students who did not complete their programs.
Radrodro emphasized that this waste represents a misuse of state resources, which the government intends to correct through new provisions. These include reinstating penalties to ensure that those funded by taxpayers serve in Fiji through government ministries or local institutions. Currently, some students are offered opportunities abroad halfway through their bond period, with the option to pay off the remaining balance. The new provisions aim to deter this practice and ensure students complete their full bond period in Fiji, with the taxpayers’ investment focused on the local workforce.
Graduates intending to migrate or work overseas will be required to serve their full bond first. If they choose not to, they must pay the remaining balance plus a 50 percent penalty before being granted a travel release.
Additionally, Radrodro mentioned cases where institutions provided incorrect information to students to boost enrollment numbers. Some students were charged fees for programs not covered by scholarships. There have been instances where students received offer letters from institutions falsely claiming they would be eligible for scholarships despite not meeting the criteria.
To address this, TSLS is running workshops for tertiary institutions on scholarship eligibility criteria and can now take action against those providing false information. The government supports healthy competition between tertiary institutions, although there is a recognition of widespread marketing efforts before semesters begin.