Policies need to be ‘well understood’
EDUCATION Minister Premila Kumar says the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service (TSLS) policies need to be well understood by the different agencies and stakeholders so students were not confused.
She made the comment during the TSLS key stakeholders awareness workshop on Tuesday.
“The criteria can be very different from what other universities have for how they recruit staff and students, so the systems are different,” she said.
She said Government, through the support of TSLS, offered a total of 9200 awards totaling up to $162.5 million for the 20222023 period.
“The value of these awards are $162.5m so it’s not a small amount. It’s a substantial sum.
“We need to be sure that we recruit students who will be able to complete the journey they’ll be able to accomplish a qualification
– and not go halfway, and then the money’s wasted.”
She added students needed to be supported and guided to reduce the numbers of drop outs in the country,
“So how do we defend students so that they are able to complete that journey to attain the qualification that becomes crucial from a development point of view and also the support that they need.
“They need to be supported. Students need to be guided and counselled so that they don’t drop out halfway.
“At the end of the day, a chunk of money will go towards the higher education institutes for the service that you’re going to provide.
“The Government looks forward to quality graduates who can fit into work environment, whether it’s private sector, public sector, or they can become entrepreneurs so they’ll be able to contribute in a substantial way towards the development of our country.”
Students need to be guided and counselled so that they don’t drop out halfway. Premila Kumar