People's Alliance Leader Sitiveni Rabuka speaking at a rally intended for university students.

People’s Alliance Leader Sitiveni Rabuka says that unfair outcomes are a fact of life.

Rabuka, National Federation Party Leader Biman Prasad, and People’s Alliance candidate Nemani Maritino were speaking at a rally intended for university students.

A final-year student of the University of the South Pacific then asked the panelists about their free tertiary education plan and what’s in it for those who have repaid their loans.

The student asked the question after Rabuka stated that the People’s Alliance and National Federation government had pledged to cancel student loan debts totalling more than half a billion dollars.

“You mentioned before that you are going to cancel debts of over half a billion dollars and that’s all well and good but our concern is what happens to those who are still currently paying their TELS and those who have previously paid of their TELS. What will happen to them.”

Rabuka says in his response that some people actually have to go through difficult moments in life.

“I think it will be unfair to them that they’ve paid and those after them not paying but that is a fact of life. That is a fact of life, some of us have to go through some difficult phases in our lives during our time and those that come in after us have got it easier.”

The People’s Alliance says if it forms government, it will remove the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) and National Toppers scholarships.

According to Rabuka, these will be replaced by full scholarships with bond conditions.

Rabuka says students will serve a bond equivalent to the number of years they studied in higher education institutions.