A Fiji National University Council meeting scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled following a government directive, leaving the council “shut out” of key decisions, chairman Semesa Karavaki says.
Mr Karavaki said in a telephone interview that the council was informed the meeting, set for Thursday, would not proceed because a decision had already been made at government level following the reassignment of FNU to the Prime Minister’s portfolio.
He said the cancellation came just days after the council issued a directive to vice-chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba requiring that all senior appointments, from heads of departments upwards, be submitted to council for approval, as allowed under Section 15 of the FNU Act.
“That directive was issued last week, and all of a sudden this reassignment was done in a very urgent way,” Mr Karavaki said.
He said the council had completed internal investigations into complaints raised within the university and had identified problems around staff progression and minimum qualification requirements, which the council was moving to correct. Mr Karavaki claimed the sudden reassignment was being perceived as an attempt to protect the vice-chancellor from further disciplinary action by the council.
Prof Nabobo-Baba’s contract, he said, was due to end next month.
He said the council had not been consulted on the reassignment and was excluded from meetings held between government officials and the vice-chancellor.
