A partial scholarships scheme in the Solomon Islands has been criticised as unfair and effectively making higher education unattainable to students from poorer backgrounds.
The Ministry of Education is to replace full scholarships with what it calls cost share scholarships for some students, requiring them to pay 25 percent of their training fees.
The Deputy Principal of Aligegeo Secondary School, Timmy Afia, says even just paying a quarter of the cost of higher education fees is unaffordable for some families, especially those from rural areas.
He says it's likely students will also be discouraged from completing their education.
"It is like an obstacle to them. They are not giving hope for the future generation of solomon island if they continue to do that. The rich or the upper class students will have the access to education, while the lower class of students just left school at an early stage. They can't pursue their education because of the implementations that the government has made."
The Deputy Principal of Aligegeo Secondary School, Timmy Afia.
The Ministry education says the cost-share scheme is to ease the pressure on the government's budget and will not affect international scholarship students.
