Ex-NMI scholars owe govt over $4M

The CNMI government is owed over $4 million by former scholars, the CNMI Scholarship Office has revealed in view of a bill allowing certain financial aid recipients to forbear payments on their student loans.

“It is very sad to know that over 4 million dollars is owed back to the government from people who have defaulted and no one takes that seriously. This government is in no position to be freely giving out money,” said Merissa S. Rasa, administrator of the Scholarship Office.

Lawmakers are currently considering legislation to forbear scholarship payments for returning students who cannot find jobs in the Commonwealth for either of two reasons: the government is not hiring, or a private sector job they have applied for is filled by foreign national worker.

In addition to being financially disadvantageous to the government, the bill is unnecessary, Rasa said.

She said former scholars who have either graduated or who are no longer enrolled in school already have the option to defer or forbear payments, if they can show proof that they are job-hunting.

She also suggested that the proposal may be unfair to other former scholars who have paid their obligation to the government.

Further, Rasa said the scholarship program was created for the main purpose of building local capacity in the Commonwealth’s workforce. “Sometimes, the part of the ‘CNMI not having jobs’ is an easy excuse for some to not even actively seek jobs or to not return. Then we are basically paying for students to go to school, yet to seek employment elsewhere,” she said.

In the past year alone, five Honors Scholarship recipients graduated, found jobs in the mainland United States shortly after graduation, and eventually asked to defer payments.

“For those recipients, we are making it so easy for them to avail of this assistance, and to not hold them responsible to the agreement made by them and the government is absurd,” Rasa said.

Despite the Scholarship Office’s opposition, the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare has recommended passage of the bill.

“The committee finds that in times of fiscal austerity, many financial aid recipients are experiencing difficulties in finding employment in the private or public sector. Therefore, the committee finds it necessary to allow a [financial aid] recipient who is not able to fulfill the requirement of providing service to the commonwealth, due to economic reasons, be granted forbearance,” said the committee.