Praneeta Prakash 
The Fiji National University was in a disastrous state in terms of managing its technical colleges as there was no financial support, according to Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Prasad highlighted this while responding to Opposition MP Jone Usamate, who made suggestions to increase the allowance for FNU and reduce the allowance for Pacific Polytechec.
Pacific Polytech is a technical training institution that was established recently.
Opposition MP Jone Usamate believes that Fiji National University’s allocation needs to be increased by one million dollars.
Audio Player“The Fiji National University has a long record of doing technical training. It has the facilities and the expertise. The organization Pacific Polytech does not have those facilities; it does not have the kind of people that will be able to deliver the work that we need.”
However, Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad thinks otherwise.
He adds that close to $25 million was wasted on the technical colleges.
Audio Player“We can’t just rely on one institution. We have a serious shortage, employers are complaining, and everybody wants immediate training, competency-based training, and this is a government that has handled that situation. This is not going to solve all the problems, but the allocations to these institutions are not determined by the Ministry of Finance or the Education Ministry.”
Professor Prasad says the allocations to higher education institutions go through proper vetting and processing by the High Education Commission, and this is how funding has been allocated to these institutions.
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