The review of the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Board (TSLB) was long overdue, says TSLB chairman Rakesh Ram.
He said this was an ideal opportunity to conduct the review to embrace the “new normal”.
In a statement, Mr Ram denounced any misinformation being spread that the review of national priority areas was aimed at restricting students’ choices, curtailing students’ aspirations or an attempt to reduce the budgetary allocation for the scholarship and loans schemes.
He said the terms of reference for the review was clear and was noticeably stated in the call for public submission.
Mr Ram said the principal objective of the review was to identify the human resource needs of the industry sectors for the next 10 years in a consultative approach.
He said the review was further aimed at identifying new fields that needed to be addressed in priority areas for funding under the scholarship and loans schemes.
Mr Ram said at the same time, the review would assist TSLB in identifying skills that were becoming obsolete so that appropriate recommendations could be made for upskilling of the workforce.
He said this was not the first time a review of the schemes had been undertaken.
“Continuous review and deliberation in the past clearly demonstrates that such actions are not aimed at disadvantaging the Fijians but rather, an attempt to continuously improve the welfare of Fijians,” Mr Ram said.
He said this was the first detailed and extensive review of priority areas since the inception of the National Toppers Scholarship Scheme and the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme in 2014.
“Such reviews are also as per demands of the best practices, not only locally but internationally.
“It is also important to note that the review has been initiated by TSLB and following the conclusion of the review, the report, together with the recommendations from TSLB, will be submitted to the minister responsible for education, as required under
