Following a Cabinet decision to establish the Fiji National University (FNU), an Interim Council was appointed and met on April 8 this year to implement that decision.
The objective of the establishment of the FNU is to provide the widest range of quality human resource for Fiji’s development.
To date, the Council has completed its consultations with stakeholders on the logistics of the merger.
It has also finalised the legislation that will govern the FNU. However, the legislation will be taken to Cabinet in its first meeting in October. Once the legislation is approved and the promulgation made, the University will be ready to commence operations.
The commence date for the University is January 2010.
Budgetary exercise is now ongoing and this will await the November Budget announcement.
The FNU will see the merger of six state-funded tertiary institutions- the Fiji Institute of Technology, the Fiji School of Medicine, Fiji School of Nursing, Fiji College of Advanced Education, Lautoka Teachers College and the Fiji College of Agriculture.
One of the advantages of the merger is that it will ensure that the needs of this nation will be better served by the Fiji National University other than by six institutions operating independently of each other.
Collectively, these institutions have over 20,000 students and with the operation of the University to begin next year, 26,000 students are expected to enrol for the courses.
Programmes will be delivered through the following locations: Samabula, Raiwai, Laucala Bay, Nasese, Vatuwaqa, Koronivia, Nasinu, Suva, Tamavua, Nadi, Ba, Lautoka and Labasa.
The decision for the type of programmes offered will be decided by the management, however, this will be guided by the demand for various programmes. In principle, all the facilities that will come under the FNU will offer all the programmes to be delivered.
The administrative headquarters of the University will be based at the Fiji College of Advanced Education.
Filipe Bole
Minister for Education, National Heritage, Culture and Arts, Youth and Sports, Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment.