The University of the South Pacific has announced a FJD 1 million student hardship and bursary package to help students weather rising living costs linked to the global fuel crisis, doubling its previous allocation of FJD 495,000. The additional funds will be raised through a reallocation of the university’s existing savings, USP said, and will be deployed without compromising teaching quality or student services.
Pro-Chancellor and chair of the Interim Management Group, Siosiua ‘Utoikamanu, described the top-up as an early, targeted response to mounting financial pressures facing students across the region. “Our first priority is to ensure that no student is left behind because of circumstances beyond their control,” he said, adding that the extra funding demonstrates USP is acting proactively “to protect student continuity and success” amid rising transport, food and energy costs.
USP said the expanded package will broaden eligibility for hardship assistance beyond the household groups that had previously been prioritised, signalling a shift away from narrowly targeted emergency aid toward wider cushioning for students experiencing acute cost-of-living impacts. The university framed the move as designed to reduce the number of students forced to interrupt or defer their studies because of shortfalls in cash for essentials such as transport, meals and power.
The FJD 1 million initiative is being presented as part of a wider USP preparedness strategy that also includes flexible learning arrangements and other targeted support measures. Those measures, the university said, are intended to maintain academic continuity if global conditions deteriorate further and to ensure students across USP’s member countries can complete their programs with minimal disruption.
USP did not detail how the reallocated savings were redistributed across budget lines, nor did it specify the application process or the number of students expected to benefit from the package. The university’s statement emphasised, however, that the funding decision had been made to preserve core student services and instructional quality while addressing urgent welfare needs.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of broader government and institutional efforts to ease education-related costs in Fiji and across the Pacific. In Fiji’s 2024–25 national budget, for example, the government set aside expanded back-to-school support to help households cope with schooling expenses. USP’s move underscores how universities are stepping in to fill immediate gaps as families and students feel pressure from higher transport and energy prices linked to global fuel market volatility.
USP has campuses and study centres across its 12 member countries, and the university said the hardship and bursary package will be administered regionally to respond to diverse local impacts. Further operational details and eligibility criteria are expected to be released by the university in the coming weeks.
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