USP to get $38.5M, FNU $36.5M, UniFiji $5M, Pacific Polytech $5M, Sangam Institute of Tech $1.545M

Tertiary institutions are getting $91 million in the 2024/2025 National Budget.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad stated this in parliament saying as soon as they came into Government, they restored the grant for USP, including their commitment to pay to USP what it was owed after its destructive fight with the previous government.

Professor Prasad says it is important to show that the Government can be trusted to meet its commitments.

He says they immediately identified funding and paid $10 million followed by another $20 million in the last Budget while a further $5 million is allocated for the payment of the outstanding grant.

The Deputy Prime Minister says apart from this, $33.5 million is provided to USP as its normal grant for this year.

He says the Fiji National University will be provided a funding grant of $36.5 million.

Prof. Prasad says the Ministry of Education has commenced the reviews of the tertiary education institutions which includes FNU, and the review will also focus on putting a focus on quality.

He says the University of Fiji is provided an increased grant of $5 million, of which $1 million is for the construction of Center for i-Taukei Studies to support preservation and promotion of indigenous Fijian art and culture through teaching, research and publication.

The Deputy Prime Minister says they have supported Pacific Polytech in the last 2 years and they have created a major impact in the provision of technical training in Fiji to meet the current shortage in the labour market.

He says this institution caters for many of our young people who fall through the cracks in terms of completing their education, or qualifying for a trade – the majority of them are iTaukei students and the government must address this to provide a second chance at a more meaningful future.

Prof. Prasad says since its inception in August 2023, more than 1,100 students have completed various national qualifications under the Fiji National Qualification Framework.

He says to support this further given the exodus of many of our workers, the government is providing an increased grant of $5 million to Pacific Polytech.

The Deputy Prime Minister says the Sangam Institute of Technology is provided a budget of $545,000 for its operations, while an additional $1 million is provided for its capital works to expand its infrastructure in Labasa and start establishment of a new nursing school facility in Nadi.

He says they will fund this over two fiscal years as the work progresses.

Prof. Prasad says a total of $2.2 million is also provided to Corpus Christi, Fulton College, Montfort Technical Institute, Monfort Boys Town, and Vivekananda Technical Centre and two new institutions: Caregivers Training Institute and ServicePro International Tourism Hospitality Institute.