Kreetika Kumar 
The scholarships are given to successful students by meeting the publicly available eligibility criteria.
According to the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Service every scheme has its qualifying merit.
It says that gender and ethnicity are not part of the eligibility criteria.
TSLS Chief Executive Hasmukh Lal says the growth in the uptake of Technical and Vocational Education and Training scholarships should be a highly welcome call, given loss of skilled labour due to global mobility trends.
He says that TSLS funds 18 local tertiary education institutions and out of this, 12 are TVET institutions, 3 are dual sector and 3 are only higher education focussed.
Lal says the Government increased TSLS operating grant to create massive awareness including visits to rural and maritime schools.
He adds that Last year, TSLS visited all schools in the maritime area including Rotuma which led to increase in the uptake of TVET scholarships.
He further states that in line with Sustainable Development Goal four , more equitable scholarship and grant schemes have been developed in last three years and implemented effectively, creating equal opportunities and greater access for all Fijians.
The yearly scholarship investment design and planning is not deduced from population distribution based on gender and ethnicity but on the employment demand in the workforce, backed by data, researched information and trend analysis.
He adds that scholarships have been awarded to those who have applied, successfully met the criteria, signed the scholarship agreement, bond and confirmation letter.
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