To facilitate the loan recovery processes for graduates under the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS), Tertiary Scholarships and Loans Service (TSLS) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS).
As per the MOU, TSLS will be responsible for collecting student data and providing FRCS with the list of it for verification processes.
TSLS chief executive officer Hasmukh Lal said the MOU signing was a significant achievement for both organisations in strengthening partnership and collaboration around loan recovery through joint enforcement, compliance, and monitoring.
“Both TSLS and FRCS intend to carry their responsibilities outlined in this MOU in a spirit of cooperation and willingness with clear standard operating procedure underpinned with demarcated responsibilities,” he said.
He said the purpose of the collaboration was to provide ease and convenience to the TELS funded students in terms of generating loan statements, acquiring travel release and repayment mechanisms.
FRCS CEO Mark Dixon said the signing of the MOU coincided well with the implementation of student loan services on the Taxpayer Online Service (TPOS) early this week.
“The student loan online services will also strengthen debt collection and reduction of student loan arrears, as all key data and information related to student loans will be available through TPOS and can be easily accessed reducing the need to visit FRCS or TSLS Offices,” he said.
He said the partnership to collaboratively work together to share information would facilitate better service delivery, support better decision making and, enhance the ease of access to services.
Through the student online service, students will be able to access their loan statements, send notifications on employment, calculate eligibility for accelerated repayment incentives and assign tax agents to perform tasks on their behalf.
To access student online services, it is mandatory to sign in for TPOS which can be accessed through the FRCS website.
