THE Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma will establish a Methodist University that will cater for students who don’t reach tertiary education. The proposal – which aims to provide Methodists, and others, with a choice to study in a Christian tertiary institution of quality and to strengthen Christian values – was endorsed by the church’s annual conference which met in Suva last month.
Presented by the former chairman of the Fiji Higher Education Commission, Dr Richard Wah, who is now chairman of the church’s strategy development committee, the proposal is based on the economic situation in Fiji and the large percentage of push-outs from the formal education system. Dr Wah said the concept of a Methodist University in Fiji has been part of the dreams and vision of early missionaries and their mission work in Fiji since the 19th and 20th century.
“However, it has never been addressed directly by any of the early missionaries up to the time of modern Fiji and has since then continued to be a dream.” Once a prominent education provider in Fiji, the standard of the church’s education system has dropped. While it still operates and manages primary and secondary and vocational schools across the country, Dr Wah said there was great need to revamp the system.
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