$60m TELS tuition, Allowance Payout

A total of $60 million have been paid in tuition and allowances this year by the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service.

There were 9712 continuing students and up until the first semester of 2022, a total of 13,314 students were funded by TSLS.

TSLS chief executive officer Hasmukh Lal said the allowances and tuition were paid to the universities as invoices were received from students.

For the first semester this year, 518 TSLS scholarships were awarded and 3084 TELS loans approved.

The outstanding Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) debt is $571,968,394.

Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) chief executive officer, Hasmukh Lal, said graduates who were unemployed had started repaying from 2022, since repayment was suspended in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.

He added the graduates, who got into employment in 2020 and 2021, have not lost the two years of accelerated payment. They can still pay within two years from 2022 and get a 50 per cent discount.

Question and answer

1: What is the number of loan schemes and scholarships given in 2022?

A: For Semester One 2022, TSLS has given out the study loans and scholarships as follows: (See small graph)

2: Filled and unfilled quota?

(See large graph)

TSLS will be opening Semester Two online applications from today (June 3, 2022).

• Some of the challenges faced during the processing period in term 1.

n Students only registered and did not complete their application despite reminders from TSLS.

n Student’s applications are incomplete, and students are not advising of updates despite numerous follow-ups from TSLS.

n Students not updating their provisional offer letters by the final offer letter obtained by the HEI.

n Students continuously change their programmes affecting TSLS to finalize their offer.

n Students not uploading the signed offer and bond for TSLS to confirm the sponsorship/funding despite numerous follow ups from TSLS.

• How many students are on probation?

-2368

• Learning support provided by TSLS?

TSLS through its learning support is visiting every campus of the Higher Education

Institutions (HEI’s) to visit students. This visit is to enlighten students on the improvement of their academic performance. Learning support tips are also provided to the students through visits and online sessions. TSLS is also working closely with learning support sections of the HEI’s to provide support for at risk students, improve pass rates, improve completion rates and mitigate attrition.

• How much has been allocated by the Fijian Government since the establishment of TSLS in 2014?

$1.2billion including the allocation for the current financial year.

Feedback:  wati.talebula@fijisun.com.fj