Higher Education Commission has not signed any grant agreements nor disbursed grants from national budget

The Higher Education Commission Fiji has not signed any grant agreements with any of their higher education institutions nor disbursed any grants from the 2024-2025 National Budget allocations.

Commission’s Chairperson, Steve Chand highlighted this during a press conference after many discussions on various platforms regarding the grant funding for the financial year.

Chand says the higher education institutions apply for government grants yearly by submitting their Costed Operating Plans, which should align with their approved Annual Operating and Strategic Plans.

He says they assess the plans and make recommendations accordingly and the key factor in the assessment is the country's need for human talents, such as professional and technical skills, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Chairman says after the budget announcement, they draw up the agreements vetted by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and the Solicitor General’s Office before any grant agreements are signed.

Chand says funds are only released as quarterly expenses after a thorough assessment of acquittals provided by the institutions.

He says the full amount will not necessarily be disbursed if an institution does not deliver to their satisfaction which means if Institution A for example has been allocated $1 million, and its expenses acquittal for a quarter is $50,000, that’s the amount that would be released and going further if their total acquittal for the year is only say $400,000 then that’s the only funds that will be disbursed.

Chand says he has requested all institutions to submit graduate employment surveys as evidence that their graduates are gainfully employed or enter entrepreneurship upon graduation and do not remain unemployed.

He adds this Destination Survey is now mandatory for all HEI’s and failure to facilitate this requirement will result in HECF withholding their grants.

Meanwhile, the debate on the 2024-2025 National Budget continues in Parliament. Once passed, it will come into effect from the 1st of August.