THE Government is considering millions of dollars in top-up allowances for Solomon Islands students studying in Fiji, the Secretary to Prime Minister (SPM), Jimmy Rodgers has revealed.
Dr Rodgers said the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) and the Office of the Prime Minister are working on a joint paper seeking additional funding for Solomon Islands students studying in Fiji.
The additional funding has the potential to anger local students studying at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU). Thousands of students are being forced out from SINU this year due to financial hardships.
Dr. Rodgers revealed the top-up in allowances for students in Fiji at a Meet-the-Press briefing in Honiara on Wednesday.
He confirmed disclosures made earlier at the briefing by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Treasurer, McKinnie Dentana, who said allowances for all government-sponsored students studying in Fiji have been paid up to the end of December this year.
According to Dr. Rodgers the funds are being kept in an Education Account at the Solomon Islands High Commission in Suva and are disbursed to students every month.
But he added that this funding covers only 60 per cent of the Solomon Islands’ student population in Fiji.
The balance or 40 per cent of the students are privately-sponsored and they too are in a bad way due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neither the cost nor the number of students studying in Fiji this year is known. According to former students, government-sponsored students in Fiji could be as high as 1, 000 in any given year.
Allowance for one student in Fiji in 2019 for example was almost F$1, 040 a month. This translates to around SBD38, 000 per student a year. Among other things, the student allowance is used to pay for rental and other incidentals.
At the news briefing this week, Dr. Rodgers said the government is looking at “topping up” the allowances for both government-sponsored and privately-sponsored students, saying they are in a bad way given the impact of the Delta variant in Fiji.
“So the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, with our support are working on a paper for consideration and approval by Cabinet to top up the allowances for both government-sponsored students and our other students in Fiji.
“Our students in Fiji are well-behaved, much better than what we experienced in dealing with our students in the Philippines,” Dr. Rodgers said.
It is not clear how much is being sought, nor when Cabinet is likely to consider the submission.
The proposal for additional allowances for students in Fiji is likely to anger thousands of students at the local Solomon Islands National University (SINU) who face being forced out from classes due to lack of funding.
Up to 50 per cent or more of the 8, 000 or so students who enrolled at SINU at the beginning of the year could withdraw, according to one estimate, Many have already incurred outstanding fees, which they could not afford.
Asked on Wednesday, Mr. Dentana ruled out any funding consideration for local students struggling to meet their tuition fees at SINU.
“The Government has settled all its financial obligations to SINU this year.”
It is also unclear whether the top-up allowance or lifeline is being extended to Solomon Islands’ students studying in other regional institutions such as in Papua New Guinea and or in Samoa.
By Alfred Sasako
Newsroom, Honiara
