University of Fiji Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem says the University of the South Pacific has been hoaxed into defending a political opinion as an academic one.
She has highlighted this after USP said that the views expressed by Dr Mahendra Reddy in his opinion article are his own and not the university’s official position.
This follows a response from the University of Fiji regarding Dr Reddy's criticism of Fiji's tertiary education financing model, which he argues could lead to issues like double subsidisation and inefficient use of public resources.
Professor Shameem has refuted USP's claim that the opinion by Dr Reddy was an independent academic view that he was entitled to as an academic.
She says when he was Minister of Education in the Bainimarama Government in 2014, Dr Reddy said exactly the same things to the Chairperson of the Fiji Higher Education Commission, at the time Dr Richard Wah.
The Vice Chancellor says Dr Wah then referred the issue to the UniFiji Vice Chancellor who, along with the other Vice Chancellors at the time, refuted what the Minister was alleging and, along with the Higher Education Commission Chair, pushed the Minister back.
Professor Shameem says Dr Reddy conceded and backed off.
She says now this former FijiFirst politician is using his USP position to reintroduce the same idea through the back door, under the pretence of academic opinion since the current Interim Administration of USP is not aware of this history.
While highlighting the response by Dr Wah to Dr Reddy’s suggestion in 2024, Professor Shameem says Dr Reddy's recent comments are nothing short of what he was promoting as Minister of the FijiFirst Government and not at all an unbiased academic opinion.
She says he had lost that battle at the time and was trying again through the guise of an academic.
Further questions have been sent to USP.
