- Under way
Details and sources
- Promised
- FAST launched its manifesto at Salelologa, Savaiʻi, on Saturday 12 July 2025 1. Talamua reported that the manifesto offers help as a child moves through pre-school, primary, college and university 2. Talamua gave no amount or date for that help 2. The Samoa Observer's summary of party promises on 28 August 2025 lists FAST's education pledge as free schooling to college 4. The Observer names paying tuition up to university as an HRPP pledge, not a FAST one 5. On 27 August 2025, in an article on HRPP leader Tuilaʻepa's campaign, PINA reported that the HRPP manifesto offers tertiary grants and expanded scholarships 3. We did not find the 2025 FAST manifesto text, so its exact wording, and whether it had any amount, are unconfirmed. Sources from before the election disagree on whether FAST promised anything for university 24.
- What happened
- The 2025/26 budget was tabled on 6 October 2025 6. It gave SAT$10 million to government scholarships, with new places in early childhood education, hospitality and vocational trades 7. The 2025/26 Budget Address also added undergraduate awards for study in New Zealand and Fiji 8. That budget gave NUS SAT$18,083,570 9. On 26 January 2026, Talamua reported that Prime Minister Laʻauli had asked the foreign ministry and the Public Service Commission to seek scholarships from partners 53. Laʻauli said Israel had already offered 20 scholarships 10. In March 2026, Samoa Global News reported that 19 students won Government Foundation Scholarships that year, plus 10 undergraduate students 11. The 2026/27 Budget Address on 26 May 2026 raised the scheme to SAT$13 million for local and overseas undergraduate study 12. That line includes places for public servants 12. A SAT$200,000 scheme for public servants studying part time had already started in 2024/25 42. The 2026/27 budget cut the NUS grant to SAT$17,200,000 13. It gave a further SAT$1.5 million to post-school training providers and SAT$1.5 million to the Teachers Higher Education Scheme 1416. Professional bodies got SAT$200,000 and the Apprenticeship Scheme SAT$250,000 15. Parliament passed the 2026/27 budget just before midnight on Thursday 25 June 2026 17. In a press release on 3 July 2026, the government listed increased support for Government Scholarships among commitments delivered from 1 July 2026 19. The 2026/27 Budget Address says scholarships under the District Development Programme also supported access to education, but gives no amount 23. Samoa NewsHub reported that a government release on 17 August 2026 said Safata I district money was also used for university and tertiary fees 20. The release did not say how much Safata I spent on each use 21. No audit report or financial documents came with the release 22. The release said the spending was documented and would form part of the district's audited fund reports 55. Samoa NewsHub noted that the missing records do not show the money was misused 56. We found no law, regulation or Cabinet decision creating a new university-support scheme.
- Impact on families
- The only count of government awards we found for this government's time is the March 2026 report of 19 foundation and 10 undergraduate awards 11. We could not confirm whether that count covers every award paid from the scheme. For comparison, in 2023/24 under Fiamē's government, the Public Service Commission processed 313 scholarship payments 24. That is a count of payments, not of students 24. The Commission's 2023/24 report also says 83 scholarship bonds had been signed 25. We found no published count of award holders who came back to work in Samoa. In March 2024, Talamua reported that more district councils were using district development money to pay senior students' university fees 44. On 23 June 2026, the Samoa Observer reported that Faleata No. 2 students at NUS said they were still waiting for fee help their district office had promised 26. NUS releases results only to students who have paid their fees 27. On 25 July 2026, the Samoa Observer reported that Faleata No. 2 students said they had paid their own university fees after district scholarship payments were late 28. The district chairperson declined to comment 29. On 6 August 2026, Prime Minister Laʻauli told NUS students that their families, villages and district councils pay some of their tuition 30. A report released on 8 April 2026 showed that the SAT$150 Back-to-School payment had reached 8,717 people in tertiary education 3233. The Post School Education and Training (PSET) Support Fund is for students who cannot afford fees 49. It paid SAT$228,495 in fees for 297 vulnerable students at seven providers in 2024/25, before this government took office 3435. Partners fund awards too. An NUS press release on 16 July 2026 said 22 students got new Chinese Government Scholarships for 2026 36. The release said NUS also secured 40 Chinese Ambassador Scholarships, up from 20 in 2025 37.
- Cost
- Government scholarships get SAT$13 million in 2026/27 12. That is SAT$3 million more than the SAT$10 million in 2025/26 712. The 2026/27 Budget Address puts total spending at SAT$1.5 billion, including programmes co-funded by partners 3852. Against that total, the scholarship line is under 1% 1238. The Samoa Observer reported that Parliament passed a budget of SAT$1,090,053,981 17. Against that figure, the scholarship line is about 1.2% 1217. The Observer did not explain the gap between the passed and tabled totals 1718. Related lines in 2026/27 add SAT$1.5 million for post-school training providers, SAT$1.5 million for the Teachers Higher Education Scheme, SAT$250,000 for apprenticeships and SAT$200,000 for professional bodies 141615. The Teachers Higher Education Scheme line is the same SAT$1.5 million as in 2025/26 1654. Over the same two years, the NUS grant fell by SAT$883,570, from SAT$18,083,570 to SAT$17,200,000 913.
- Verdict for families
- Cuts both ways
- Can it be done?
- Doable
- Long term
- Mixed long term
- Who deserves the credit
-
Shared credit
The scholarship scheme is inherited: it grew from SAT$3.2 million in 2022/23 to SAT$4.67 million in 2023/24 and SAT$6.3 million in 2024/25 under Fiamē's government, and in a Samoa Uniting Party press release on 14 October 2025, former Prime Minister Fiamē said the newly tabled 2025/26 budget, which set SAT$10 million for scholarships, closely aligns with the fiscal plan her cabinet proposed earlier that year 39404174546. This government's own step is the rise to SAT$13 million in 2026/27, while districts and partners such as China fund separate awards, and its 3 July 2026 press release claims 'increased support' for Government Scholarships without saying that earlier governments built the scheme 12433619.
- Who gains
- Students who win a government award gain from a SAT$13 million pot in 2026/27; a March 2026 report counted 19 foundation and 10 undergraduate government awards that year, but no full count has been published 1211.
- Who pays
- Taxpayers and future budgets pay, since SAT$41.5 million in soft loans helps fund the 2026/27 deficit, and the roughly 4,000 NUS students share a grant cut by SAT$883,570 while families without an award still pay fees 503191330.
- Assessment
- The scholarship line is funded and small, about 1% of spending, so it is affordable 123817. But UNESCO describes the government's awards as going to highly ranked students or on competitive results 4748. The one need-based fund we found paid fees for 297 students in 2024/25 4935. Scholarships rose by SAT$3 million while the grant to NUS, which serves all its students, fell by SAT$883,570 712913. Much fee help runs through district councils, and the 17 August 2026 government release on Safata we did not say how much that district spent on each use 3021. The IMF has cautioned that further growth of the district programme should depend on better transparency and accountability 51. So it lands as mixed: real help for award winners, less for the many families who still pay NUS fees themselves 3028.
Sources (56)
- FAST Party Manifesto Centres on the Family Unit
- FAST Party Manifesto Centres on the Family Unit
- Tuilaepa warns of 'greater mess' if rivals win Sāmoa election
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- What the three major parties are promising Samoa
- Minister of Finance Tables $1.24bn Talā Peoples Budget
- Budget Address FY2025/2026
- Budget Address FY2025/2026
- Budget Address FY2025/2026
- Exam results call for Revamp in the Education System
- 17-Year-Old Savai‘i Student Shares Story of Perseverance after Winning Scholarship
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Parliament passes budget
- Parliament passes budget
- Government Delivers on Key Social Commitments from 1 July 2026
- Government confirms $750,000 Safata withdrawal but spending records remain unpublished
- Government confirms $750,000 Safata withdrawal but spending records remain unpublished
- Government confirms $750,000 Safata withdrawal but spending records remain unpublished
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- PSC Annual Report
- PSC Annual Report
- NUS results withheld over unpaid fees
- NUS results withheld over unpaid fees
- Faleata No. 2 scholarship delays leave students paying fees
- Faleata No. 2 scholarship delays leave students paying fees
- PM address recent violence and drugs with NUS Students & Staff
- PM address recent violence and drugs with NUS Students & Staff
- More than $15M paid out in $150 school support
- More than $15M paid out in $150 school support
- Samoa Qualifications Authority Annual Report 2024–2025
- Samoa Qualifications Authority Annual Report 2024–2025
- China Scholarships Continue to Strengthen Samoa’s Future Workforce
- China Scholarships Continue to Strengthen Samoa’s Future Workforce
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- BUDGET ADDRESS 2022/2023
- PSC Annual Report
- Budget Address 2024/2025
- Budget Address 2024/2025
- Budget Address 2024/2025
- Timely Financial Support for Students from the $1m District Development Project
- FAST Government Adopts Key Policies from Previous Budget
- FAST Government Adopts Key Policies from Previous Budget
- Samoa | Financing for equity in higher education (UNESCO GEM education profiles)
- Samoa | Financing for equity in higher education (UNESCO GEM education profiles)
- Samoa | Financing for equity in higher education (UNESCO GEM education profiles)
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- IMF cautions against further expansion of DDP
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Exam results call for Revamp in the Education System
- Budget Address FY2025/2026
- Government confirms $750,000 Safata withdrawal but spending records remain unpublished
- Government confirms $750,000 Safata withdrawal but spending records remain unpublished
Is it funded?
Funded in the budget
The 2026/27 Budget Address lists SAT$13,000,000 for the Government Scholarship Scheme under the Public Service Commission 1. The 2025/26 Budget Address listed SAT$10,000,000 for the same scheme 2. Parliament passed the 2026/27 budget just before midnight on Thursday 25 June 2026 3. The Samoa Observer reported the amount passed as SAT$1,090,053,981, against SAT$1.5 billion tabled, and did not explain the difference 34. The Budget Address says the SAT$1.5 billion includes programmes co-funded by development partners 6. The 2026/27 Budget Address says scholarships under the District Development Programme also supported education, but gives no amount for them 5. We found no published figure for money actually paid out on the scholarship line in 2025/26 or 2026/27.
Sources (6)
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address FY2025/2026
- Parliament passes budget
- Parliament passes budget
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- Budget Address 2026/2027
What research says
Little research
Evidence on scholarships in the Pacific is thin. A survey of Australia Awards Pacific alumni found 90% were employed 1. In Samoa, the Samoa Qualifications Authority reported that 635 students, 20% of those in accredited programmes, got PSET Support Fund help in 2023 2. That is a count, not an evaluation 2. A reader's letter in the Samoa Observer in November 2025 says many Samoan doctors trained on government scholarships stayed abroad 3. It is one writer's view, not a count 3. A 2017 article by Ariane de Gayardon argued that free tuition does not always mean better access or fairness 4. The Centre for Global Higher Education's summary of that article says limiting the number of state-paid places restricts access and often penalises the most disadvantaged groups 5. Samoa Scholarship Scheme Awards are designed for highly ranked students, so research on free tuition fits Samoa only in part 6. We found no evaluation of Samoa's own scheme.
Sources (6)
- Cultivating development in the Pacific
- PSET Statistical Bulletin 2023
- Clarifying facts Samoa's doctor workforce
- Free Higher Education: Mistaking Equality and Equity
- Mistaking equality and equity in higher education
- Samoa | Financing for equity in higher education (UNESCO GEM education profiles)
Cost and reach
The yearly cost is the SAT$13 million scholarship line for 2026/27 1. The number of people reached is unknown. A March 2026 report counted 19 foundation and 10 undergraduate government awards that year, but we could not confirm whether that covers every award 2. For comparison, in 2023/24 the Public Service Commission processed 313 scholarship payments, a count of payments rather than of students 3. For scale, the Prime Minister said on 6 August 2026 that NUS serves about 4,000 students 4.
Sources (4)
- Budget Address 2026/2027
- 17-Year-Old Savai‘i Student Shares Story of Perseverance after Winning Scholarship
- PSC Annual Report
- PM address recent violence and drugs with NUS Students & Staff
Helps: Students · Public servants
Paid for by: Taxpayers · Low-income families · Future budgets and debt
Folafolaga · https://folafolaga.pages.dev/promises/fast-school-tertiary-support/ · Printed from the version last checked 23 October 2026. Every claim's source is listed on that page.