The Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Board says students should not panic as no student risks losing their place in tertiary institutions due to any delay in the processing of their Tertiary Education Loans Scheme applications by TSLB.
This comes after questions were raised by some parents whose children have received their offer letters from various tertiary institutions but were still unsure how they would pay the tuition fees as they had yet to receive letters from TSLB confirming they have been accepted for the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme.
Some parents have told Fijivillage that TELS is their only hope of paying for their children’s tertiary education and they are worried as they haven’t received a response yet.
TSLB CEO Bobby Maharaj states any student who meets the eligibility criteria for the various schemes administered by TSLB, should enroll for their studies as private students and later the student status can be changed to TSLB sponsored.
He says once students applications for the Toppers or TELS Scheme is approved, TSLB will submit the list to the tertiary institutions directly and the student’s status will be changed by the institutions from private to TSLB.
Maharaj adds this also applies to students who have received their offer letter, bond form and confirmation letter from TSLB. He says they must enrol as private students and the status will change to sponsored once the tagging list is submitted to the institutions by TSLB.
The CEO says it is also important to note that TSLB will progressively process the applications till the 31st of this month.
He further says with classes for Semester 1 commencing from the 3rd of next month, processing of complete applications will still be done on time.
Maharaj stressed students should consult TSLB offices located in Suva, Lautoka and Labasa for any assistance adding there is no intentional or negligent delay in processing the students' applications by TSLB.
