Fiji National University (FNU) acting vice-chancellor Dr William May held a news conference yesterday to “clarify some misinformation that unfortunately has been picked up by the media and also being peddled on social media platforms”.
He said 247 Technical College of Fiji (TCF) staff members would have their contracts terminated by December 31 and 76 will have their contracts extended beyond 2020.
“The temporary contract will end on December 31 so you would understand that when we inherited the TCF that would have been in the contracts already and so I assume that teachers and staff know this already that the contracts would be coming to an end,” he said.
He also said through the media, FNU had been made aware of a union leader’s claims that the reason for the review process was because FNU needed Government to provide funding so FNU could continue with TCF operations and the union had also further threatened legal proceedings against possible termination of staff members.
“The Fiji National University would like to state that Government funding is not the reason for the extensive review of the operations currently being undertaken at TCF, but it is being done to streamline and strengthen the delivery of its programs.
“This exercise is focused on areas of learning and teaching resources, student numbers, program quality, teaching skills and qualifications, and quality of facilities.
“A major part of the review includes a consultation process with key stakeholders including staff, Government through the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts and industry representatives.”
Dr May also said there had been comments around the establishment of TCF by Government, the quality of teachers and graduates.
He said student numbers had declined over the years from a peak of 2669 in 2017 to 1504 this year.
“It is evident from the decline in student enrolments and dissatisfaction amongst staff that a comprehensive review and alignment of TCF is needed to ensure it fits perfectly within the existing FNU structure.
“Furthermore, to ensure students receive proper guidance and training, it is imperative the teaching faculty meet the minimum academic qualification requirement as per the university’s human resource recruitment policy.”
