Government allocates $86.5m to higher education, first-time recipients included

Nine higher education institutions signed grant agreements today as part of the $86.5million for the 2025-2026 financial year.
At the same time the Higher Education Commission of Fiji (HECF) warned that institutions must prove their graduates can find jobs.
HECF chairperson Steve Chand told institution representatives that that a total of 13 institutions had been allocated the $86.5m by the Coalition Government this year.
“I will no longer allow higher education institutions to institute programmes that have no meaningful pathway to employability,” Mr Chand said during the signing ceremony in Suva.
“If I cannot equate a qualification into employability, it doesn’t make sense to me.”
The grant recipients include University of Fiji, Pasifika Communities University, Fulton Adventist University College, Monfort Boys Town, Monfort Technical Institute, Sangam Institute of Technology, Vivekananda Technical Centre, Pacific Technical Institute and Davuilevu Theological College.
Three institutions, namely Davuilevu Theological College, Pacific Technical Institute, and Pasifika Communities University, are receiving government grants for the first time.
Mr Chand said all institutions must meet nine key criteria to qualify for funding and warned that the commission carries “the burden of looking after taxpayers’ money”.
“We had an incident some months ago where we have had a lot of institutions that have graduated students numbered in thousands that are still without a job,” he said.
“Simply put, institutions were selling these qualifications that equated to no meaningful employment opportunity for graduates.”
The commission will use a grant management system to track and monitor how funds are used, with institutions required to submit regular financial reports.
HECF director Eci Naisele said institutions must focus on training programmes that fill skills gaps in the economy, particularly those outlined in the National Development Plan Vision 2050. Mr Naisele said additional institutions would receive their grants in coming weeks.
The grants are operational in nature and must be used to enhance teaching and learning, research, and capacity building at institutions.