AS a director of the University of the South Pacific’s Centre of Flexible Learning, Dr Rajni Chand believes working hard is the key to achieving success in life.
Dr Chand hails from Labasa and has been with USP for more than 25 years as a student, teacher, researcher, and course co-ordinator.
“I was born in Labasa, where my father was a shop owner, and I completed my secondary education at Labasa College,” she said.
After completing high school, she said she completed her Bachelor of Arts at USP, Masters in Applied Linguistics at the University of Griffith in Australia, and PhD in Applied Linguistics at the University of Otago.
She said her thesis focused on the learning strategies used by distance learners at USP.
“When I was in school, there was a trend where every student said they would become a teacher when they grow up.
“I was very good at English and I also desired to become a teacher.”
Dr Chand has taught as an English teacher at various urban and rural secondary schools in Fiji and Brisbane.
She said after getting married in 1986, she moved to Suva and taught English at various schools, before moving to Brisbane to accompany her husband to complete his PhD.
She taught in high schools there and completed her Masters’ studies at the same time.
Dr Chand is the wife of the National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad.
She has travelled extensively in the USP region and internationally and has in-depth knowledge on open and distance learning (ODL) for small and developing South Pacific regional countries.
Dr Chand has also worked in the course development and editing sections for USP’s distance learning section.
“My contributions to USP includes 22 years of service, designing of USP’s first compulsory generic course to be taught via blended, online and face-to-face mode and involved in the review and conversion of USP’s entry English exam, English language skills assessment (ELSA) to online mode.
“I have also consulted and taught at 12 out of 14 USP campuses.”
The mother of two said proper time management allowed her to juggle between her personal and professional life.
“We have always been hardworking, so it was not difficult to juggle between work and home. It’s just that, we have to manage our time correctly.
“Separating office work from homework, there will be a balance at both places, and we did that from the start.”
She has presented her research findings at various international ODL, Applied Linguistics, and Indian Diaspora conferences.
For more than 20 years now, Dr Chand has been closely involved in the women’s non-governmental organisation sectors in Fiji and has held various leadership positions.
She is the chairwoman of the board of trustees for femLINKpacifc, an NGO that uses all forms of media as its regional platform for communicating with women on their empowerment, environment, human rights and climate issues.
