Education Minister Aseri Radrodro says they will not be able to release the breakdown by institutions in relation to the Tertiary Scholarships and Loan Service bond expiry.

The Minister made this statement while responding to a written question by MP Alipate Tuicolo asking about the number of students enrolled under the TSLS that did not complete their studies.

Radrodro says the breakdown by institution cannot be released as it will cause reputational damage to the Tertiary Education Institutions.

However, Radrodro adds that the institutions have the information on probation, suspension and non-completion.

He has revealed that from 2014 to 2023 there were 21, 685 students who have either absconded, are inactive or are yet to graduate and their bond term has expired.

Education Minister Aseri Radrodro [Source: Parliament of the Republic of Fiji/Facebook]

Radrodro says this equates to around $160m of investment.

The Minister further reveals that students with very low marks were given TELS from 2014 to 2019 to study degree programs which contributed to such a high non-completion.

Radrodro says the technical colleges also attributed to the non-completion figures.

The Parliament has approved amendments to the TSLS Act to obtain academically ‘at risk’ student information.

Radrodro says this information is to be used to subsequently prepare remedial plans for their tertiary education institutions to early detect and provide scaffolding support to reduce the non-completion rate.