Education will cease to be the privilege of a few and will be accessible to all students the Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama affirmed, while opening the Fiji National University’s $40m Nadi campus this morning.
The Nadi campus marks another milestone in making tertiary level and vocational education accessible and relevant.
“The opening today of the Namaka campus of FNU is also a manifestation of that overall objective of our government to create accessibility to education and vocational training,” he said.
“The campus will immediately provide specialized courses in hospitality and aviation.
“It is fitting and only logical that such courses be made available here given that the Nadi International Airport, the international gateway to Fiji and the bulk of the hotels are located in this part of Fiji.
“It will help provide human resources skill sets to the tourism sector which is our largest single contributor to our GDP.
“It will also offer the opportunity for many of the hotel properties, who hitherto have not done so, to use Fijians in senior management positions.
“In the very near future courses in landscaping and horticulture will also be available from this campus.
“It is imperative that we recognize and encourage specialized skill sets in these technical and vocational areas to give impetus to government’s overall objective to grow the economy.”
The campus is also poised to cater to the demand for teaching skills to other Pacific islanders.
“There are enormous opportunities in the ‘export’ of educational services,” he said.
FNU vice chancellor Dr Ganesh Chand highlighted that about 5,000 students will be enrolled at the campus.
FNU is also planning to open centers in Tavua, Rakiraki, Ba and Sigatoka.
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