VCP re-appointment not illegal, says USP Chancellor and Nauru President
REPUBLIC OF NAURU
Government Information Office
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, 9 June, 2021
VCP re-appointment not illegal,
says USP Chancellor and Nauru President
The President of Nauru and
Chancellor of the regional university, His Excellency Lionel
Aingimea says the Council acted within the guidelines of the
University of the South Pacific Charter and Statutes in
re-appointing the vice chancellor and relocating his place of
work.
A sub-committee chaired by
President Aingimea presented six recommendations to the USP Council
which convened a special meeting on 25 May and 2 June 2021, and
agreed, among other matters, to offer a new contract to Professor
Pal Ahluwalia as the Vice-Chancellor and President (VCP) of
the USP.
Students and staff are pleased with
the recommendations and the outcome of the Council deliberations in
re-appointing the VC.
"The Council stands for what's
right and that's what the students and staff wants."
The President agrees it is Fiji's
decision when it comes to terminating work visas; however the issue
of contract termination lies with the Council as the VCs
employer.
"We [Council] looked at the USP
Statutes and Charter and we have not broken any rule in offering a
new contract to the VC."
Since the sub-committee was
established, President Aingimea has received a lot of
correspondence from staff, students and the Fiji media, enquiring
about the status of the VC.
As chairman of the sub-committee,
President Aingimea respects the process and deemed it inappropriate
to respond to those enquiries, until now, saying any communication
and developments arising from the sub-committee must first be
reported to Council.
President Aingimea refutes comments
made by Fiji's Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to the Fiji
Parliament suggesting the re-appointment of Professor Ahluwalia is
"illegal".
"I don't see how it can be
illegal.
"I am also a lawyer and I've also
read the USP Charter and Statutes and the Council has the authority
in making appointments.
"There's nothing in the Statutes or
the Charter to suggest we have broken any rule by re-appointing the
vice-chancellor or issue him with a new contract.
"There is nothing illegal about it;
Council offered him a new contract and it can, as the
employer."
There is precedence in which former
VC Rajesh Chandra's contract was renewed by Council without
advertising the position.
On Monday, 7 June, the Association
of the USP Staff, the USP Staff Union and the USP Student
Association, jointly issued a detailed and strongly-worded press
release rebutting comments made by Mr Khaiyum.
The press release quotes sections
of the USP Charter and Statutes supporting Council's decision.
Section 17 (a) of the USP Charter,
states:
Subject to this Our Charter, the
Statutes may prescribe or regulate as the case may be:
(a) The status, appointment and
continuance in office of the Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor,
Vice-Chancellor, Deputy
Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and other officers of the
University.
"The students and staff basically
read the Charter and Statutes, and issued their press release and
specifically quoted sections in the Charter and Statute. The same
Charter and Statute the Council used," President Aingimea said.
"This shows that what Council did
is indeed, not illegal."
Additionally, the USPs Charter,
Statutes and Ordinances do not make reference that the VC must be
located at the Laucala Campus in Suva, Fiji.
President Aingimea defends Samoa as
an established USP hub, just as Emalus Campus in Vanuatu is; and
relocating the VC to Samoa would not be a disadvantage in terms of
the VC conducting his work.
As a former lecturer at USP, the
reports and issues facing the university are not new to President
Aingimea who says these are longstanding issues.
"So maybe it's about time the
region spoke out.
"This is a regional university. It
doesn't belong to any one country."
As Fiji has the highest number of
students attending USP, it therefore is the highest contributor to
university grants with its annual contribution of $34.4
million.
It also benefits the most through
income tax, rent, travel, transport, medical, and the purchase of
goods and services by the staff and students that attend and are
employed by the university.
In reality however, the Fiji
Government has not paid the full amount in recent years.
In 2019 it was short $7.8 million
and $17.75 million in 2020. This year, a contribution has not been
made by Fiji, which gets back nine times its contribution.
President Aingimea says all member
countries of the USP have the right to an equal voice in the
decisions and operations of the USP.
"USP belongs to all of us, not just
one country."