Hope for expats
p. 15 · Read in the full issue
FIJI’S education minister, Filipe
Bole, has floated the idea of hav ing a special quota for children of expatriates in the region to attend the University of the South Pacific. If the idea is formalised and accepted, it will affect the quotas of each of the countries which send their students to USP.
Bole says the sentiments are excellent.
Firstly, regional countries have in the past relied heavily on universities and other institutions to accommodate their students. Regional students, therefore, did not only take away places which could have been filled by students of those countries which hosted them. 0 They were invariably also funded by the host countries. It is time for reciprocity if not merely for a showing of appreciation for the accommodation generously given the region’s students in the past.
Additionally the programme will foster a better understanding of the region by students whom our future leaders may have to deal with later in life. □