PS questions who will fund Vuvale training centres after Australian support ends
The Vuvale Union proposes a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Regional Centre of Excellence focused on digital skills, with a second centre for maritime skills potentially following.
Thursday 17 September 2026 | 06:30
Permanent secretary for Education Navin Raj in Parliament on September 15, 2026.
Photo: Parliament of Fiji
The Ministry of Education has raised concerns over who will pay to operate and maintain new technical training centres proposed under the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union once initial external funding ends.
Permanent Secretary for Education Navin Raj said questions over the centres' long-term ownership, governance and financing needed to be settled from the outset.
“We need to establish from the outset who will own, govern, finance and maintain the centres, and what happens when the initial external funding period ends,” Mr Raj said.
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He raised the concerns while presenting the Ministry's submission on the Vuvale Union to Parliament's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence in Suva on Tuesday.
The Vuvale Union proposes a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Regional Centre of Excellence focused on digital skills, with a second centre for maritime skills potentially following.
Opposition MP Virendra Lal questioned whether Mr Raj had raised the funding concern and other risks with the Office of the Prime Minister, which led Fiji's negotiations.
“An honest response is perhaps during that consultation or during the discussion, I wasn’t part of,” Mr Raj said.
The treaty also provides for subsidised university places in Australia at domestic student rates for selected Fijian students.
The scheme is expected to begin in 2029 or 2030, backed by indicative funding of AU$29.5 million (FJ$47 million).
It builds on existing programmes, including the AU$25 million (FJ$39 million) Australia-Fiji Education Programme and AU$229.5 million (FJ$362 million) Pacific Australia Skills programme.
More than 700 Australia Awards scholarships have been awarded to Fijians since 2012.
Mr Raj identified seven risks associated with the education arrangements, including funding duplication, cyber security, equity in student selection and the loss of skills from Fiji after training.
Committee member and Assistant Minister for Sports Aliki Bia and Opposition MP Rinesh Sharma also pushed for education to be included in the treaty as a standalone article rather than being left to a future work plan.
