The 25 percent allowance provided to students is intended as financial assistance and not to cover all of their expenses.
This was highlighted by Minister for Commerce and Business Development Esrom Immanuel.
While responding to questions from fijivillage News on concerns that the allowance may not be enough to cover upfront costs such as rent, accommodation and textbooks, Immanuel says TSLS normally consults with tertiary institutions and universities before such decisions are made.
He says the main role of the Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service is to ensure students' programmes are funded, while the allowance is provided as additional assistance.
Immanuel also reveals that more students than expected accessed TSLS funding in the first semester, resulting in some of the funding allocated for the second semester already being utilised.
He says the number of students who enrolled in the first semester doubled compared to what was expected.
Immanuel says student numbers are usually expected to be spread across the first, second and third semesters, but the higher intake in the first semester meant some of the funding for the second semester had already been used.
When asked whether students who have not returned to continue their studies had contributed to financial pressure on TSLS, Immanuel says students are not currently required to repay their loans and the issue is related to the allocation of funding.
On the reduction in government funding for Pacific Polytech, Immanuel says allocations are determined independently by the Higher Education Commission using its own methodology.
He says government grants are only one source of funding for institutions, as they also receive scholarship payments from TSLS for enrolled students.
Immanuel adds the increase in the number of students pursuing higher education is important as Fiji continues to face demand for skilled workers across a number of industries.
He says this is evident from the need to bring workers from overseas to fill vacancies.
