Parliament has unanimously passed the Bill to transform the 60-year-old Pacific Theological College into the broader Pasifika Communities University as it maintains strong church ownership and governance.
While tabling the Bill in Parliament, Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro says the Bill establishes a university that is uniquely Pasifika, an institution that honours indigenous knowledge systems, cherishes faith traditions, and prepares people to navigate the complexities of this age with moral clarity and cultural confidence.
He says the Bill also establishes a robust, transparent and accountable statutory framework that will enable the university to serve the tertiary education needs of diverse religions and indigenous communities throughout Fiji and the wider Pacific region.
Radrodro says our society faces unprecedented challenges including the erosion of traditional values, the breakdown of community cohesion, and a growing disconnect between education and ethical formation.
The Minister says the university intends to address this crisis by establishing a university dedicated to whole-of-life education, an approach that integrates academic excellence with moral and spiritual development, which will contribute uniquely to national and regional development goals.
He says it explicitly mandates academic freedom, ensuring non-discrimination and access for all qualified persons, regardless of background.
Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh says the university is going to be very strong on soft skills and will produce ethical graduates, which is indeed very important for us.
He says we need an ethical workforce, and we need upright citizens who are strong on values.
Singh adds he is happy that they are also getting involved in skills development in TVET such as carpentry, food and beverage, and arts and crafts.
Assistant Minister for Public Works Naisa Tuinaceva says the University promotes a whole-of-life approach that considers people, families, communities, culture, the economy and the environment.
He says development should not focus solely on economic growth, particularly when it damages the environment and communities.
Tuinaceva says Pacific ancestors understood the need for balance and responsibility in managing land and ocean resources, and that this traditional knowledge should be recognised as valuable knowledge.
The Assistant Minister says there is value in an institution that recognises Pacific knowledge and wisdom alongside modern academic knowledge, adding we do not have to become less Pacific in order to become more educated.
He adds that neither should we have to discard the knowledge of our ancestors in order to embrace science, technology and modern development.
Tuinaceva says the University’s Pacific identity is reflected in its governance structure, with the Council becoming the Va’atele, Chancellor the Taumoana, Pro-Chancellor the Tautai, and Vice-Chancellor the Manu Folau.
He stresses these titles represent navigation, leadership, responsibility and journey, and reflect the institution’s confidence in presenting Pacific concepts to the world.
While speaking in support of the Bill, Opposition MP Premila Kumar questioned the use of alphabetical rotation to select the University Council chair, saying the role should instead be based on merit, experience, judgement, independence and leadership ability.
She also highlighted that the Bill does not specify a penalty for an offence involving a Council member or employee who discloses confidential information obtained during the course of their duties.
Kumar has welcomed some clauses in the Bill including the protection of academic freedom, the transitional provisions that provide practical continuity of the university as it transitions, the section on self-accreditation.
The MP stresses that the University should still be subject to the appropriate requirements of the Fiji Higher Education Commission, including registration and the recording or recognition of its qualifications—the usual processes which all other universities follow.
Opposition MP Jone Usamate says the university recognises and draw on the knowledge, skills and resilience of Pacific ancestors, who navigated oceans and lived sustainably across the region for thousands of years.
He says education must be relational, holistic, challenge colonial systems of knowledge, be community-based, be prophetic and justice-driven and it must recognise the legitimacy of Pacific home-grown models and methodologies.
Usamate says this university says there is value in all of these things as we go forward in the world that we live in today.
