Government sponsored students of Solomon Islands at the USP Laucala Campus in Fiji have signed a petition for payment of their living and book allowances.
SIBC's Walter Nalangu reports the Minister for Education received the petition, signed by close to 300 Solomon Islands students, on Saturday based on resolutions reached following a meeting last Wednesday.The petition, among points raised in relations to the allowance issue, includes demand for the immediate reinstatement for studies of SIG-sponsored students recalled for poor performance in semester one of 2007.
It was reasoned that failure by students was due to the government's continuous delay in paying their book and living allowances.
The students also demand that the National Training Unit (NTU) must not count any courses withdrawn or failed by students at the end of semester two this year, towards termination of scholarships.
The petition argued "there is a direct correlation between allowances and poor academic performances".
The Unit, in previous reports last week, responded on the issue stating the Central Bank was processing the transfer and students were expecting to their allowances by last Thursday.