Out Of The Blue: Another

South Seas University

From a Suva Correspondent The reaction in Fiji to the early May announcement that the Morris Mission had recommended that a University of the South Pacific be set up at Laucala Bay, Suva, was one of sur prise. A large proportion of the population, even the usually well-informed, had had no idea that the mission had ever been in Fiji.

f TNLIKE the long work-up programme that preceded the establishment of the University of New Guinea, at Port Moresby, the Fiji mission, under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Morris, spent only two or three weeks in the colony at the end of last year.

It did not, like the P-NG Com mission on Higher Education, seek the views of the general public and few residents of Fiji other than officials were asked for their views.

PIM could, in fact, in May, find only one man who had been inter viewed.

But now that the recommendations have been made, Fiji generally finds itself in the usual several minds about them. The 75 per cent, of the population which considers itself lucky to get a primary education is naturally not much interested; 12i per cent, think that a university would be a good idea if some painless way could be found of paying for it; and the other I2i per cent, agree with the London Times, which was

of the editorial opinion—although expressed in much more elegant language—that the mission was kid ding itself in many of its con clusions. Among these latter are those who point out that primary education in Fiji is not yet free and not compulsory.

Fine In Theory

Where the Times mostly took issue was in the contention that the Laucala Bay university would be a regional one. Experience in Africa and elsewhere doesn’t encourage the regional approach in universities or m anything else; and with Papua- New Guinea already with a univer sity, it probably won’t be long before every other islands territory will be regarding the establishment of some thing of the sort of its own as a national status symbol.

In theory, a university that would serve the whole of the South Pacific would have great merit, but as

These are some of the buildings to be used by the proposed new University of the South Pacific, at Laucala Bay, Fiji, They were formerly occupied by the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Suva harbour and the city of Suva are in the background.

Photo: Rob Wright.

Papua-New Guinea have already opted-out of this, the Laucala Bay university would in actual fact serve mainly Fiji, In its “catchment area”, the mis sion optimistically included the Gilbert and Ellice Is. Colony, New Hebrides, Cook Islands, Niue, Nauru, Western Samoa, Tonga, the British Solomon Islands, and Ameri can Samoa.

The mission estimated that need of graduates in Fiji would be only 473 in the next five years but turned down the proposition that these would be more cheaply catered for by existing universities in overseas countries.

The mission’s recommendations were based on the assumption that the new university would be financed by the United Kingdom, New Zea land and Australia and that the cost of establishing the institution would be £5tg1,375,000 plus £5tg356,000 per annum to run it four years after establishment (£Stgl27,ooo in the first year).

It was not stated that these sums would, in fact, be forthcoming from these countries, and most people in Fiji doubt that they will be.

New Zealand has announced that it will give the buildings and instal lations at Laucala Bay vacated by the RNZAF flying-boat squadrons and, according to the NZ Prime Minister, valued at £Stgl,soo,ooo.

If NZ does this, presumably NZ will feel that it has done its bit.

Who Pays?

Australia is already committed to establishing a university in Port Moresby which will cost no less than the proposed institution at Laucala Bay. Moreover, it has already shown that it is far from forthcoming when Fiji asks for financial aid (see story on p. 13).

Under ASPTAP, Australia is willing to supply technical aid but in the case of a university it is difficult to see where this would help much.

Prime Minister Wilson is already having severe financial problems in the UK and probably feels that he could do without a university in Fiji but, if the Morris dream becomes reality, it appears that it is from the United Kingdom that most of the finance will have to come.

One solution to the whole problem, Df course, would have been to make :he Port Moresby institution the university of the South Pacific and o send everyone there until such ime as there was need for a second Pacific university in Suva.

Many of the Morris recommenda ions duplicate what is already being lone in Port Moresby—including a

preliminary year of special training with emphasis on English, and degree courses of three years.

Such a getting-together would have shown real co-operation on the part of administering authorities in the South Pacific but this does not appear to have been considered.

The mission also turned down the idea of the Suva institution becoming a junior college, attached to some other university, probably in NZ. The report sets out the reasons for this at some length but one of these is the belief that only an autonomous university would attract “distin guished professors and younger teachers of high promise”.

Another reason was that the mission believed that there was a striking need in the region for a “flourishing centre of research” particularly in marine matters and that only a university would attract the right kind of researchers.

The report proposes that the university should open for degree :ourses in 1968. Only time and some real down-to-earth discussions on financing will prove whether it will Dr not.

Speaking in Australia in May, a nember of the mission, Mr. P. W.

Tughes, said that a provisional :ouncil for the university would be ;et up later this year and that first itudents would probably start in 1967.

First Faculty

Has Got Going!

FN early June there will be a L dedication ceremony in Suva for /hat in fact is the first faculty of fie new University of the South 'acific. The dedication ceremony is or the Pacific Theological College, lasses for which started in April.

Jiere are 20 full-time and two pecial students from Fiji, the larshall Islands, the Cooks, New 'aledonia, the New Hebrides, the filbert & Ellice and Western Samoa.

The Pacific Theological College is ie first advanced college of theolo ical education anywhere in the orld that is fully ecumenical nglican, Congregational, French eform, Methodist and Presbyterian lurches are participating. It started ? a result of a meeting of the lurches in Apia in 1961.

Principal is the Rev. Dr. George • F. Knight. Registrar is the Rev. opeti Taufa, of Tonga.

Eleven of the 20 full-time students ill work for the B.D. degree and ne for the Diploma in Theology, he college will become the Faculty : Theology when the University of e South Pacific gets going.