The leader of an opposition party in Fiji is calling on the government to suspend the repayment of loans by students who had their studies financed under the tertiary education loans scheme.
Last week, the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service confirmed the state was unable to collect 158 million dollars in arrears from almost 30,000 Fijians.
National Federation Party leader Biman Prasad said the government should suspend the debt recovery for five years.
Professor Biman Prasad Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
"The economy is going to take at least another three to five years before we are back to some kind of pre-pandemic level of economic activity, where you can expect students to find better jobs and have the ability to start making the repayment. And that is the best option," he said