‘Students may be sent home’

 

GOVERNMENT pressure will only increase as the year draws on and the real pressure will come when unbudgeted expenditures turn up for payment at Treasury and some of these will become very urgent.

Hon Rick Hou, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), made the statement on the floor of Parliament this week when presenting his speech on the report of the 2017 Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2017.

PAC Chairman Hon Hou, then said a classic example is the huge scholarship bill emanating from the extra ordinary number of scholarship awards this year.

“Sir, there is an impending call from educational institutions abroad and locally for payment of fees, in respect of Solomon Islands has sent under Government scholarship.

“Sir, this year is unprecedented in terms of tertiary scholarship numbers that Solomon Islands has ever sent.

“It is believed that overseas government scholarship awards this year have increased at least three times the normal number of overseas scholarships per year,” Hon Rick Hou said.

He then added that at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU), the number of students under full government scholarships has overtaken any other time in recent history.

He then explained that he is not questioning the policy intention for awarding scholarships to aspiring Solomon Islands students.

“But as I have said before, the decision to award such unprecedented numbers defies any logic given the current financial constraints facing the country.

“We know government has budgeted for 200 new overseas scholarships only: why send 700 or more?

“We know Government could only afford a limited number of scholarships at SINU, why do we flood the residence halls with government sponsored students?” said Hon Rick Hou.

Hon Rick Hou then said our overseas students will need money for their upkeep and course materials.

“Soon, if not already, those overseas education institutions will demand their tuition fees.

“Sir, it is a concern especially that the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) has not made any assurances to the Committee as to how the Government intends to fund these obligations which may run into millions of dollars,” Hou added.

He then said that there are rumours that this request is coming under a further supplementary but the question remains, “how do you plan to spend money you don’t even know where it will come from?” Hou quoted.

The Chairman of the PAC then said that it is imminent that the Minister of Finance and Treasury, Hon Snyder Rini, will not have a lot of options: either he has to pay or the students come home.

“Sir, the situation at SINU with government sponsored (both direct and indirect) is getting worse.

“I am informed that for 2015 and 2016 a very significant amount remains outstanding in respect of Government sponsored students.

“This year alone, the number of government sponsored students has risen to 1,224 (comprising of 476 – MoFT; 56 – Health; 92 – Commerce; 200 – MPs and 400 – Guadalcanal Province)

“I am also informed that so far SINU is yet to be paid its normal subvention/grant for the first quarter of 2017,” Hon Rick Hou

The MP for Small Malaita then strongly stated that the point is that there will come a time when government will have no option: the Minister either has to pay or send students home or worse still, this may even push the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) to closing classes due to non-payment of fees by the Government.