USP Council lifts suspension of academic chief

Flags of USP’s 12-member countries fly high outside the USPSA Federal Office at Laucala campus. The student body had taken the flags down when the VCP was suspended on June 8. The flags were raised this morning to support good governance at USP. Picture: USPSA/SUPPLIED

By WANSOLWARA STAFF

The suspension of University of the South Pacific’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, has been lifted by the USP Council following a seven-hour virtual meeting today.

The institution’s highest decision-making body convened a virtual special council meeting to determine whether the Executive Committee’s (EC) recent decision to suspend Vice-Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia was valid.

After a seven-hour long discussion, the USP Council set aside the suspension of VCP Prof Ahluwalia by the executive committee, stating it was not persuaded that due process was followed in the suspension of the VCP.

“The Council, having considered the decision by the Executive Committee to suspend the Vice-Chancellor & President, agrees that the process prescribed in An Ordinance to Govern the Discipline of the Vice-Chancellor be followed in investigating any allegations against the VC & President of USP,” a statement from the Council Secretariat said.

Fiji’s Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar, who was part of the virtual meeting, said the idea of the meeting was to find a resolution to the issues faced by USP.

“Fiji’s stand has always been on good governance and we still promote good governance and that is why we are part of the Council’s decision,” she told local media at USP’s Laucala campus after the meeting concluded.

Before the start of the virtual meeting, journalists were refused entry into the University by security officers at the campus gates, who were following directives that the ‘media was not allowed on campus’.

Campus security was also tight at the virtual meeting venue for Council members in Fiji.

Concerned staff and students maintained strong support and solidarity for good governance over the past few weeks and welcomed the council’s decision to reinstate Prof Ahluwalia.

In recent weeks, Pacific leaders echoed strong calls for USP Council members to work together to resolve the ongoing challenges currently faced by the region’s premier educational institution.

Prof Ahluwalia was suspended on June 8 by the EC for alleged material misconduct, pending an investigation. The decision by the EC resulted in numerous demonstrations by concerned staff and students at USP campuses in Fiji, Vanuatu, Niue, Samoa, Kiribati, Nauru and the Solomon Islands.