STATEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL HON. AIYAZ SAYED-KHAIYUM

29/01/2021


After meeting directly with student reps last week, the TSLB was asked to review what was clearly an abrupt and arbitrary decision to suspend certain Topper’s students from their scholarship programmes. As we know, Government was not consulted nor did we approve that move. At best, it was hasty decision, at worst, it bordered on academic-sabotage. And I want to start by apologising to those students who were affected. TSLB’s management was treating university students like they were in a day-care, with no genuine consultation or consistent communication. And our Toppers deserved a far higher level of professionalism.  

The review has revealed the root of the problem was a lack of transparency for students and poor and inconsistent implementation of government’s objectives. So, we not only have to correct the wrong that’s been done, TSLB must commit to new protections for students to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

Here’s the plan:
Topper’s students enrolled who were suspended in 2020 without any personal notification will be reinstated. These students may have fallen below the necessary GPA requirements ­­-- but that policy was so poorly and inconsistency enforced that they were essentially ambushed by the news of their suspensions. These students will go back on scholarship at the probation level where they will have a fair shot at working their way back up to the GPA threshold. We do have standards for students receiving scholarship, and students must meet those requirements. If they don’t they will be suspended, but that must happen in accordance with due process. 
 
The GPA threshold itself is another matter. Right now, it stands at a 3.0 for all Toppers regardless of institution. But as we know, some universities have different grading scales. For example, a 3.0 GPA on USP’s 4.5 grading scale is not the same as a 3.0 GPA on FNU’s 5.0 grading scale. So, the TSLB will be tailoring GPA requirements based on universities’ different grading scales. That’s a complicated process that can’t happen overnight, but that review will commence soon.  
 
The manner in which these students were notified of their suspensions also wasn’t right. Rather than be individually notified, students received a blanket notice of how this policy would affect them and their academic futures. That practice should not continue. From here on out, students must be individually notified if they are placed on probation or if they have been suspended.
 
Another of the fundamental issues was that Topper’s students – all of whom earned those scholarships on merit – did not have a reliable safety net in place in the event that they were suspended. Many of their contracts say they are entitled to TELS funding, but in some cases that was disregarded by TSLB’s management. Really, that stipulation should cover all Toppers and it should be consistently applied. The funding has already been allocated in the form of a scholarship. There is no financial reason why it should not be used to fund their studies through TELS. That is why, moving forward, any Topper who is fairly suspended for falling under the GPA threshold will immediately become eligible for TELS funding.
 
Now, just because a student may have been suspended, doesn’t mean they should lose the chance to work hard, improve their grades, and reclaim their Topper’s scholarship. Again, TSLB’s management has made that far more difficult than necessary by changing the goalposts. So, say you dropped below the 3.0 requirement, former-Toppers would have to earn higher than 3.0 – even a 3.5 GPA, just to reclaim their scholarship. That policy, which was unilaterally decided by TSLB, is ending. For the time being, a 3.0 GPA is the standard, both for maintaining a scholarship and for reclaiming it.
 
TSLB will be undertaking a number of other reviews and audit of its policies and processes that I’ll let the Chair detail shortly. But generally, the Board has been directed to build a much stronger bridge between the administration and students. We appreciate that these student reps sought to pursue resolution of this matter in such a practical and solutions-based manner without politicising the issue. Instead, they brought their concerns to their government directly, and today we’re doing something about it. But good communication at the university level is the only real treatment for the underlying issue here. The TSLB has agreed to consult with students on a more regular basis. The reason is simple: Students deserve transparency; they deserve consistency; and even if they are struggling with their studies, they deserve a fair shot at improving.
 
I want to thank the new TSLB Board for being forthright with us, meeting with these student reps to resolve this issue, and for sorting out this matter quickly. The Board has also agreed to engage more closely with government to ensure that students are properly assisted with their scholarships and that TSLB work aligns closely with government’s objectives: most critically, our commitment to the education and wellbeing of our students.

Thank you.