A total of 1,529 scholarships have been issued over the past 21-years for students from the Lau Province.

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara Education Trust Fund Chair, Doctor Esther Williams highlighted this during the Lau Provincial Council meeting this morning.

She says dozens of students who are pursuing their education in various tertiary institutions around the country are assisted through the Trust Fund.

Doctor Williams adds that around $1.4 million have been spent to accommodate the education needs of the students who were assisted.

She also stated that the pandemic also presented massive challenges for the Trustee, especially the need to identify avenues to generate adequate funding for the scholarship.

This has prompted the trustee to withhold the scholarship for the past two years. She said the trustee faced a loss of about $79,000.

However, the trust fund managed to assist at least nine students this year.

A suggestion to organize fundraising activities to raise at least $100,000 over the next few weeks has also been discussed.

Meanwhile, the Ratu Mara College in Lakeba has been closed for the past few years due to the low student roll.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while opening the meeting yesterday assured that the school will be operating again soon.