The University of the South Pacific says the views expressed in an opinion article by Senior Fellow at USP’s Graduate School of Business and former FijiFirst Minister Dr Mahendra Reddy are those of the author alone and do not represent an official position of the university.
This has been highlighted by USP following University of Fiji's response to an opinion piece by Dr Reddy.
In his opinion piece, Dr Reddy said that Fiji’s current tertiary education financing model, where government provides operational grants to institutions, capital grants to state-owned universities, and tuition scholarships to students across both public and private providers, has created a set of incentives that risk double subsidisation, surplus leakage, inefficient use of public infrastructure, and weakened accountability for public funds.
UniFiji Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem had responded stating that Dr Reddy’s remarks on tertiary education funding shows ignorance of the role of universities in nation-building and questioned whether what Dr Reddy said was the official USP position because, if so, universities that upheld the human values foundation of education, such as the University of Fiji, would have a few choice words to say in reproof.
While responding to fijivillage News, USP says while they may not agree with every opinion expressed by its academics, it will always defend their right to express their views and contribute thoughtfully and independently to public debate.
USP says the article was published as an opinion piece authored by Dr Reddy and was clearly identified as such through the accompanying disclaimer.
They say the university’s official positions on policy matters are communicated through formal institutional channels.
They say at the same time, universities exist to advance knowledge and inform public debate through rigorous analysis and open inquiry.
The university says an essential condition for fulfilling that role is academic freedom, which includes the right of academics to express informed views on matters of public policy, even where those views may be contested.
They say USP does not require unanimity of opinion to fulfil its mission.
USP says they recognise that tertiary education funding is a complex policy issue involving important considerations of public good, equity, efficiency, accountability, and national capacity.
The university adds they respect the role played by all tertiary institutions in Fiji’s education system and remains committed to constructive, respectful engagement with government, sector partners, and the wider community.
