• Redraft the Higher Education Bill;
• Conduct stakeholders consultations on the Bill;
• Set guidelines and criteria for the establishment and recognition of higher education institutions in Fiji;
• Establish a register for higher education institutions;
• Regularly advise the Board on developments within the higher education sector;
• Submit monthly reports to the Board;
• Prepare schedule of meetings of the Board;
• Write policies and initiate the drafting of regulations based on the provisions of the Higher Education Promulgation;
• Develop and maintain a website

Today’s inaugural meeting of the Higher Education Advisory Board marks the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in the development of education in Fiji. This new chapter, as you know, is about the extension of the current perimeters of regulation in education to include the regulation of higher education also.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Professor Rajesh Chandra for consenting to chair the Higher Education Advisory Board. This body is being referred to as a Board for the time being, until the promulgation of the draft legislation, when it will then become the Higher Education Commission. And I would also like to thank each one of you ladies and gentlemen for agreeing to become members. Your inclusion in the Higher Education Advisory Board gives it credibility and status. I hope that you are all looking forward to being a part of this exciting new development in the history of education in Fiji.

It is important for Fiji to embark on this path at this point in time. Fiji often takes its cue in educational development from international trends. Many countries in the world are using legislation to manage their higher education and post-secondary sector so that it becomes a more effective vehicle for socio-economic and political development. Fiji is treading carefully in this area so that we achieve a balance between regulation and facilitating and encouraging growth in the sector. This is a moderate and modest beginning for us.

We are certainly not in favour of a restrictive and prohibitive legal mechanism for the post-secondary and higher education sector. Too much regulation might stultify growth and have a negative impact on current provisions in the sector. What we believe we need is a basic legislation with only minimum provisions. The current Education Act [1966; 1978], as you know, deals only with matters relating to the school sector and it is silent on the subject of higher education. There is therefore no requirement for higher education providers operating in Fiji to adhere to any standard of service or infrastructure. There is no call for them to practice good governance, or to be accountable and transparent. In time, if this state of affairs were allowed to carry on, it might jeopardize our reputation internationally and in the region also.

At the moment, the higher education sector operates in a liberal environment where providers have a free hand to set their own standards and to facilitate activities in the sector. This has provided unprecedented access to Australian and other global providers of higher education to Fiji’s higher education market. While this may sound like a good policy that allows greater access to post-secondary education for more local students, it does not protect them from being exploited by profit-driven enterprises. Local providers, some of whom have been providing affordable post-secondary education for many decades, also need to be protected from being “crowded out” by overseas providers offering programmes at below the domestic market price.

The report of the Scoping Study in 2005 that was conducted by Fiji Education Sector Programme (FESP) on the review of the Education Act provided a strong catalyst for this new direction. The report, among other things argued strongly in favour of putting in place a separate regulatory framework to enhance governance in higher education in Fiji. The FESP report stresses “the importance of a clear governance framework which enables, regulates and empowers all those charged with responsibility for one of any nation’s greatest priorities – the education of its young people.” [MoE 2005].

Membership of the Higher Education Advisory Board is a call to national duty. We have never had to think about legislation for the higher education sector before, but local and global forces compel us to move in this direction now. We need to start by building on what we already have and we need to start with basics and work our way slowly outwards and upwards until we are on par with countries like Malaysia and Mauritius and others in our region.. This may not happen overnight, and may not happen in leaps and bounds, given the constraints of funding and other considerations, but we need to make a start.

Our approach is to begin with legislation which will then empower a central authority, the Higher Education Commission, to determine how the higher education sector should be managed and developed. In the tradition of developed countries, this Higher Education Board would be expected to articulate a national vision and mission for higher education which shall ultimately define the sector in Fiji. The Board has a pivotal role in this endeavour; its wisdom, creative energy and passion will determine whether Fiji’s higher education sector will achieve international recognition in the future.

The Board is mandated by Cabinet to begin the regulation of the higher education sector through a process of registration of existing and new higher education institutions. Part of the regulatory work of the Commission is to set minimum standards for courses, programmes and facilities. This means that, post-secondary institutions, including universities, will need to meet certain national criteria and guidelines in order to be registered and to be recognized as higher education institutions in Fiji.

There are many things to look forward to. We look forward to the day when our institutes, colleges and universities are able to attract an international clientele. We also look to a time when everyone who desires higher education in Fiji is able to get it. Our people should be able to take their Fiji qualifications to any part of the world, and they would be recognized. I think what I am trying to say is that we can only rise as high as you are willing to take us!

In the process of sorting out the governance issues and the future directions of higher education, we can begin to dream of bigger and higher things that can be achieved within the higher education sector. The process of globalization with its neo-liberal philosophy and globalization of technology is ushering in many global providers of higher education; there is nothing to prevent us from harnessing the power of these processes creatively and imaginatively to create a knowledge hub or a higher-education hub right here in Fiji. We are a small country with a small economy, but I believe we have the “brain power” to attract resources and to build up our higher education sector to world class standards. Nothing is impossible in today’s knowledge culture, especially with the kind of access to hi-technology and regional and international networking that is available.

For now, we tread carefully as we take stock of our capabilities and decide on the best way forward for Fiji.

I wish to assure the Board of my personal support and the support of the staff of the Ministry of Education in this truly huge undertaking. We know that this Board has the capability to carry out this national duty for the people of Fiji.

May God bless you all. Vinaka vakalevu.