The Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Premila Kumar addressed the Fiji National University Council meeting on 13 November 2021.
Minister Kumar acknowledged the University's progress toward becoming Fiji's premier university and suggested some directions that she would like to see the FNU take
Given the Government’s commitment to quality education, Minister Kumar assured the Council of the Government’s support for FNU.
Minister Kumar said she was impressed with the resilience and commitment the staff and students at the Fiji National University have shown during this time of crisis and further shed light on several areas which the University must now focus on in order to fix loose ends and establish a new normal.
“When the university succeeds, its success touches every Fijian. The biggest challenge for the education sector has been the perception of students that online learning is dull. Therefore, it became imperative for universities, colleges, and schools to think of innovative ways to engage students and maintain their interest”, added the Minister.
The Minister highlighted Government’s allocation of a total of $207,008,656 in operating grants to FNU over the past 3 years. “I would like the Council to take stock of the returns on this investment which can give us some assurance that the return on our investments is acceptable”, she said.
“On this same note, I am impressed that FNU has also aligned its Strategic Plan 2021-2026 to the Government’s vision where the four strategic pillars are: (a) Education for Employability; (b) Research with Real World Impact; (c) Student Experience; and (d) Financial Sustainability.”
The Minister impressed upon the Council the need for FNU to lead in TVET education. This would require the University to have good data on the skills need in the market so it can ensure that the appropriate programmes are offered.
The Minister stressed on the lack of survey and planning of the job market which has often been left to the Government and strongly suggested that all involved with tertiary education including FHEC and the private sector must be part of such job planning for skills and professional requirements with the need for longer-term planning where Universities need to play a vital role.
Universities are at the center of research, innovation, creativity, and the generation of new thinking which in turn benefits industries and societies in general. The Minister shared her disappointment with Universities in Fiji for not carrying out research in areas that can benefit the Government and the private sector on emerging issues.
The Minister challenged the Council and said that FNU cannot rely totally on Government funding. It must start planning to achieve financial sustainability which is Pillar 4 of the Strategic Plan.
“There should be plans to develop international and regional education strategy to attract students to study at FNU and that there is a huge opportunity for FNU to assist island countries with their development ambitions and to generate revenue to fund FNU and generate export income for Fiji’’, Minister Kumar said.
The Minister stated that the Fiji Higher Education Commission, FNU and other Universities should work towards a policy of job creators, not just job seekers. FNU has a better chance of achieving this as it is involved in major areas such as medicine, public health, agriculture, and other professional areas and of course TVET.
Minister Kumar said “We need to bring a systematic reform in the education system to transform both intent and content of education. The curricula should be transformed to align with the dynamic modern day educational requirements”.
In conclusion Minister Kumar reiterated that quality and relevance of FNU qualifications should be at the Centre of FNU’s resolve.
“I want to see relevant programmes (both academic and technical) that caters for the market demand; increased research that addresses current and emerging issues; targeted approach to international accreditation and recognition of programmes; increasing regional outreach; and increased number of qualified academics that could further improve the quality of teaching,” Minister Kumar said.