Claims of underqualified medical lecturers by Maharaj rejected by UniFiji

University of Fiji Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem has assured Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj that all medical science staff lecturing in the degree programmes have Master’s or PhD qualifications.

She has highlighted this while responding to comments by Maharaj during Public Accounts Committee hearing on the qualifications of medical lecturers at two universities were insufficient.

Maharaj claims that in some cases, diploma holders are teaching degree-level students, including those studying medicine, which could affect the quality of education and, more importantly, the safety of future patients.

While responding, Professor Shameem says she cannot speak for any other medical school except for the Umanand Prasad School of Medicine and Health Science which offers MBBS, Bachelor of Medical Health Sciences, Public Health and Nursing qualifications, and all lecturers in their programmes are appropriately qualified in accordance with the Fiji Higher Education Commission requirements.

She says these qualifications are initially approved by the Fiji Medical and Dental Council prior to being endorsed by the Commission.

Professor Shameem says the lecturers were highly qualified with final year MBBS students being taught by medical specialists including the eminent Professor Ifereimi Waqainabete, previously Minister of Health and parliamentary colleague of Alvick Maharaj.

She says the Nursing Department was headed by Dr Akisi Ravono, a well-known nursing professional and similarly, most medical lecturers have Master’s qualifications, and are more than capable of lecturing at undergraduate levels in all the medicine and health science programmes.

The Vice Chancellor also says UniFiji's medical graduates were highly regarded in the hospitals once they had graduated.

She says a 2024 external review of UniFiji by a group of consultants engaged by the Higher Education Commission to review all three universities in Fiji had specifically mentioned that their school is offering exemplary medical education, alongside the law programme taught by the university's JDP School of Law.

Professor Shameem says hence UniFiji is secure in the knowledge that its medical education was second to none in Fiji and, indeed, was highly sought by the rest of the Pacific judging by the increasing number of students from the region applying to attend the school due to its impeccable reputation.

She says the university wishes to set the record straight on the issue of qualifications of its staff.

The Vice Chancellor adds the university's human resources policies established the Minimum Qualification Requirement for all academic positions at the UniFiji and this is closely monitored at the Vice Chancellor’s level.