“I know we have over 100 graduates. Are they coming back? We hope so, but they have to come to our office and inform us whether they will come back or not,” she told Variety.
If these students decide not to work in the CNMI, the scholarship office will send them a payment agreement plan and a copy of their memorandum of agreement “so they will know that they’re in default,” Rasa said.
“I know that a lot of them are choosing not to comeback,” she added.
She noted that the CNMI government has over $4 million in uncollected loan and scholarship payments from previous beneficiaries.
Rasa said 30 to 50 CNMI college students graduated off-island last semester.
The memorandum of agreement between the scholarship office and the scholars never stated that they would be guaranteed jobs in the CNMI, she added.
But recipients are required to return and work in the CNMI for a period of time, which depends on the amount of assistance provided to the students, she said.
According to Rasa, the scholarship program is supposed to build local capacity in the workforce. The CNMI private sector remains dependent on guest workers, while most residents prefer to work in the government which offers higher salaries and more benefits.
