$20,000 bond introduced to protect stranded Fijian students

Student recruitment agencies will be required to post a $20,000 bond under new regulations aimed at protecting Fijian students sent overseas, following reports of students being abandoned without support on arrival.

Higher Education Commission Fiji (HECF) chairperson Steve Chand said the bond would establish a safety net to ensure students can be repatriated if agencies fail in their obligations.

“In the event we need to bring back any student, there’s a fund that will be used to bring back the students from that particular country,” Mr Chand said.

The move follows troubling incidents where Fijian students arrived at overseas airports with no representatives to receive them, leaving some stranded late at night and reliant on assistance from members of the Fijian diaspora.

HECF director Eci Naisele said investigations revealed that some agencies had sent students to institutions that did not exist, despite fees already being paid.

“There is actually no school for that matter, but the money has already been paid,” Mr Naisele said.

Student welfare will also be supported through mandatory pre-departure orientation programmes run by the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS), which recruitment agencies must utilise.

TSLS chief executive Apisalome Movono confirmed that orientation sessions were already underway, with the Central Division programme completed and the Western Division session scheduled for Friday.

“We stand ready to support your work in this area,” Mr Movono said.

Mr Chand said Fiji’s overseas missions would conduct quarterly welfare checks on students to confirm their attendance, accommodation and overall wellbeing.

The bond requirement is part of a broader regulatory framework to be presented to the Commission on February 4. The framework also includes a $1,000 application fee and a requirement for agencies to maintain a physical office presence in Fiji.

Immigration authorities have also confirmed that agencies operating in Fiji on visitor visas will not be permitted to conduct recruitment activities.