The University of the South Pacific has confirmed that it has re‑activated accounts for students who have paid their tuition fees in full but have other outstanding fees.
Acting Vice Chancellor Richard Coll announced that the University will allow students who have fully paid tuition fees, but have not paid some other fees such as the general service fee etc., to sit for their examinations and use University facilities.
However he states that the University will only release their examination results upon clearance of all outstanding fees.
USP stresses that the decision to deregister students who have not paid their fees in full from Monday was a unanimous decision by the USP Senate.
Richard Coll says student debt is now very high and accumulating every year and the University sees it critical that this is addressed.
Coll says the University will not de‑register students whose fees are not yet paid by sponsors or through Fiji’s TELS loan scheme.
He says it is the private student debt, two thirds of which is from outside Fiji.
Coll says numerous reminder emails on fee payment deadline and fee installment payment plans have been sent out to all students.
He says USP is implementing this decision following a protocol stipulated in the regulations in the USP Handbook and Calendar, which gave students a considerable grace period for over a month to make some arrangement such as a payment plan with USP’s Finance Department and a reasonable number did so.
Coll says students have always been allowed to register before the semester begins and to help them, USP allows them time to pay until mid‑semester.
He says the University also has a substantial bursary and scholarship scheme to help financially disadvantaged students, especially those from the region.
Coll says USP has been reluctant to deal with this in the past and the net result has been a ballooning debt of many millions of dollars.
He says the matter is compounded if students do not pay and subsequently fail and exit the University.
Coll says they are forced to write off large sums each year.
Following USP’s announcement, SODELPA MP Mika Leawere has issued a statement saying that the partial lifting of the de‑registration still limits the future of those who have tuition fees owing and who may need more time to gather these fees, notwithstanding the fact that these private students may have other expenses brought on by Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Leawere says the USP Media response tries to deflect this by inferring that regional students are to be blamed.
He says the Vice Chancellor meets regional council members regularly and he should be raising this at that level instead of imposing measures at the 11th hour which distracts students from their primary task of studying and preparing for examinations.
Leawere says that while they accept that the university is an institution of higher education and is not a charitable organisation, this policy is void of wisdom and comprehensive consultation with the primary stakeholders.
Leawere reiterated his call for the Vice Chancellor to step down immediately.
