MINISTER DR. MAHENDRA REDDY'S SPEECH AT THE FNU CAFF & NTPC GRADUATION CEREMONY

Representatives of the Fijian Government
Members of the FNU Council
Vice-Chancellor Professor Nigel Healey
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching, Professor James Pounder
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research, Professor Mohini Singh
Members of the FNU Senior Management Group
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Graduands, Family Members, Sponsors, and Invited Guests
 
 
Welcome

Ni Sa Bula Vinaka! Namaste and a very Good Morning to you all.

Thank you, Master of Ceremony, for your kind words of welcome. I am delighted to be speaking to you all today as academia is also an important part of my life and it brings back a lot of good memories. I take this opportunity to thank the FNU Council for inviting me to officiate at this important event.

Ladies and Gentleman, the graduation ceremony is the most significant and meaningful occasion in the University’s calendar for our graduands, and I would like to thank you all for honouring the achievements of our graduands and sharing in their happiness. I would like to especially welcome the parents who are present here today for gracing this special occasion. It is an undeniable fact that you played an unequivocal role in your child’s life for them to be sitting there among the graduands today.
2.  Graduation and Congratulations
This morning, we have 228 students graduating.

I would like to congratulate all of you graduating today.  I join with your parents, families, government, sponsors as well as friends in celebrating your achievement with you today.  You carry the flag of a unique university.  We wish you the very best for the future.  Make the country proud through your contributions, especially by being hardworking, innovative, committed and, above all, ethical in your future work and leadership. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I feel proud of seeing all these young brilliant faces today. This is where our thinking community is…where most of our brightest minds are. They are the critique and conscience of the society…they are supposed to guide the society, guide us, the policymakers and I wish to remind you all today that you have a daunting task of pushing the frontier…if we are to remain competitive in the market, if we are to progress, if we are to remain relevant and not being left behind, then you will play a very critical role. This is why we, government, provide lots of resources to tertiary institutions despite being an emerging economy with its own set of problems and constraints. I have raised this matter as I wanted to jog your memory and remind you of how important you all are to our Fijian society.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there is something extra special about today's graduation which makes it different from any other previously held by the University.

Ladies and Gentleman, Today’s ceremony will see the first lot of veterinary students graduating after completing their 5 and a half years of studies.
This is a milestone achievement and will go a long way in improving the livestock sector in the country. This will also assist in upgrading and providing regular upskilling to our para vets which will be a cost-effective way of providing veterinary service to our farmers in the Agriculture Ministry which is spread across throughout the country. Our Animal Health and Husbandry extension officers can be upskilled and we will not have to hunt for qualified veterinarians from foreign countries.

These new experts graduating today can now be utilized for consultation and providing service to individuals farmers, groups or corporations and government establishments on all aspects of livestock production and assist us in border control biosecurity matters. At the moment, we are actively pursuing the eradication of TB and Brucellosis amongst our beef and dairy cattle. This will provide much need support to further curve the spread of these diseases. I do hope that some of you will also consider establishing your own clinics to serve the public.

Fiji National University
Dear Students, you should feel proud of graduating from a University which has a long and proud history.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, FNU since its inception in 2010, has come a long way. It has pretty much a full complement of programs and is our national pride. Founded in 1885 as Suva Medical School, FNU has grown to become the national public university of Fiji, with five colleges and approximately 20,000 students.  As a comprehensive university, FNU offers agriculture, business, humanities & education, medicine & nursing, and engineering & science.  FNU is a ‘dual sector’ university, offering technical and vocational education and training (TVET)
 
Looking forward to the future, FNU is setting an exciting agenda to further strengthen their teaching and research, both to take advantage of the greatly enhanced digital infrastructure in Fiji and to prepare graduates for the opportunities being created by our continuously developing economy.  FNU together with the Fijian Government aims to achieve the following within the next few years;
 
1. Educational Access: Providing education and training that is accessible to all Fijians, regardless of location, age or physical ability, by Increasing the range of courses available by blended learning and expanding the range of part-time postgraduate programs and micro-credentials to support lifelong learning.
2. Teaching Excellence: Delivering world-class education and training that maximizes graduate employability today and into the future, by seeking international accreditation and/or international recognition for all major educational programs.
3. Research Impact: Undertaking applied, socially impactful research that addresses the policy priorities of Fiji and the region and ensuring that every area of research priority is led by highly qualified academics
4. Staff Capability: Building a staff base that can drive teaching excellence and research impact, by ensuring that all academic staff holds a recognized teaching qualification and that all higher education academic staff at Lecturer and above have PhDs.
5. Environmental Sustainability: Making the University energy self-sufficient through the use of solar arrays and more energy-efficient buildings and providing national leadership in disaster planning and climate change mitigation.
 
 
Why choose FNU?
Potential tertiary students can differentiate themselves by choosing FNU.
-It’s the only dual sector University providing TVET and Higher education programs
-80 – 90 % of graduates secure paid employment within the 4 months after completing their studies
-Through government subsidies/grant, FNU offers low-cost tuition fees
FNU graduates are workplace ready
-Practical’s are carried out in real situations
-It is the sole provider of certain programs in Fiji
-Its has State of the art facilities
-Academic programs are designed upon consultations with the industry.
 
Government’s standpoint
Ladies and Gentleman, the Fijian Government will continue to ensure that each child has an opportunity to sit where you are sitting today, to feel the joy you are feeling today. We will make sure that no child is left behind and gets an equal opportunity to get an education.

Government has time and again announced that one of its greatest investments is education. The Government of the day intends to ensure that all Fijians are given equal opportunities and accessibility to get themselves educated. A lot of emphases is placed on an educated society which will in future inject that much needed empowerment, skills and knowledge in all Fijians to progress productively.
 
We have also devised policies and avenues such as free education, transport assistance, wheat-bix and milk, TELS scheme, free textbooks, revised curriculum, competent teachers, upgraded infrastructure and continued initiatives and reforms to make education accessible so that students get a chance to teach tertiary level and once there, students do not have to worry about paying university fees.
 
The Fijian Government, through the tertiary scholarship and loans board, provides scholarships and loan schemes which students can utilize to fulfill their and their parents' dreams.
 
To the Graduates
Graduates, as you prepare to move on to the next stage in your lives I encourage you to reflect upon your experiences during your tenure at the university and consider how you can best utilize this valuable training in the future. You have had the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills that you would not have been able to acquire in any other regional university and I believe that this experience has helped you grow. You are now in the perfect position to give back and serve as leaders in your local communities.

The future holds no promises, only mysteries, and surprises. Whatever you do, don’t spend it chasing after somebody else’s dream. Be brave to follow your own. Own it and pursue it relentlessly with all your might. You once had a dream to graduate, today you’re an achiever. Keep learning, keep trying, and keep accomplishing. There is a vast majority out there who have been waiting for you to provide them leadership….create new pathways, lead them to prosperity….this is not an easy task to fulfill. It will be filled with obstacles and challenges. You will have to be bold, you will have to think big, be positive and continue researching….you will succeed but it may not be in your terms and in your time frame.

I wish you God’s blessings and many happy returns.

Vinaka!