Farmer, Anwar Ali from Rakiraki was amongst hundreds of parents and students who turned up at Suvavou House today to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Government for students to apply for different tertiary loan schemes.
Mr Ali is the sole bread winner of the family with two children attending secondary school and his eldest daughter is applying for the student loan scheme to study for a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management and Employment Relations at the University of the South Pacific.
“The loan scheme introduced by the government is a very good form of assistance for the parents as now everyone can qualify to get loans especially children living in rural areas,” Mr Ali said.
“It will also see Fiji having more educated and trades people with graduates in different fields and if this scheme is available later I will use it for my other children in the future.”
The head of the Tertiary Education Scholarship and Loans Unit, Senimili Kamikamica said that close to 1000 parents and their children have visited the office while some have sent enquiries via email and telephone since the opening date of the scheme.
“There have been overwhelming responses from the parents as most of them have been paying privately so this is a big help for them to send their children for further education,” Ms Kamikamica said.
“The tertiary loan scheme is gaining more interest by the students as it covers all categories mostly tertiary students doing foundation courses and those who have completed Form 7 in 2013.”
Ms Kamikamica is advising students not to rush and take their time to enroll and secure a place in the institute then apply for the loan scheme as the Tertiary Education Loan Scheme (TELS) will remain open to give everyone a chance.
The scholarship under the National Toppers Scheme closes tomorrow on the 10th while the application for the loan scheme remains open until the closing enrolment date for various tertiary institutions.
-ENDS-