Kamna Kumar 
USP Staff Union protesters
Members of the Association of the USP Staff and the USP Staff Union protested for the removal of Vice Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia today at the main campus in Laucala, Suva.
They were joined by some students chanting the need for the Vice Chancellor to exit the university and for Dr. Tamara Osborne reinstated.
The protest comes as the USP Council convenes in Auckland, New Zealand, for its meeting.
Executive Member of AUSPS Dr. Sevanaia Rakai says they are of the view that the Council will prioritize the exit package for Professor Ahluwalia today and the Secretariat will advise on the outcome of the meeting two days from now.
He says today’s protest is to reemphasize the need to remove the vice chancellor.
Dr. Rakai claims the university’s reputation has been tainted because Professor Ahluwalia is still with the institution.
Meanwhile, in early March this year, Education Minister Aseri Radrodro confirmed that University of the South Pacific Vice Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia had verbally resigned from his post during the USP Council meeting held in the Cook Islands last year.
In the same statement, it was highlighted that a new vice chancellor is expected to be identified soon.
However, a few days later, FBC News was informed that Professor Ahluwalia had not resigned.
Pro-Chancellor and Chair of Council Siosiua Utoikamanu confirms that Professor Ahluwalia’s contract remains in effect until August 2026.
The USP Council meeting is underway in Auckland, where Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad are representing Fiji.
FBC News is trying to sort comments from Radrodro and Professor Ahluwalia.
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