The Macuata Methodist Divisional School is eagerly working to be registered under the Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC) and to be the first of the Methodist circuit schools. This was expressed with interest by the Board of the School to a visiting consultancy team from the FHEC.

The school commonly known as ‘Nasoso’ was set up by the Macuata Methodist Division to provide basic pastoral courses to trainees who later advance to the Methodist Lay Training Centre or Methodist Deaconess Order.

Macuata Methodist Division Superintendent, Rev Waisale Rasekaseka thanked the FHEC for the consultancy visit held at the institution where the members of the Board and church ministers serving in the division met with the officers of the FHEC.

“We have come to understand the importance and the value of getting registered under the FHEC,” described Rev Rasekaseka. “It is a benchmark that allows us to improve our services to our very own congregation and at the same time attract more students to the school.

The institution gained its Recognition Certificate in 2019 and work stopped as the committee in charge was dissolved, and the current administration has zero knowledge of its progress.

The institution is working very closely with the FHEC to gain its Registration Certificate.

“What Nasoso has done should challenge other Methodist circuit schools to lift their standards,” advised HEC Director, Dr Rohit Kishore.

Dr Kishore said that the Commission is not only a regulator, but an enabler and institutions can always request its assistance in terms of governance and quality assurance.

The Montfort Training Institute (MTI) in Savusavu officially received its provisional Registration Certificate from Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC). The certificate was received by the Vice Principal of the institution, Bro Francis Abraham from a visiting FHEC consultancy team.

The MTI in Savusavu and Montfort Boys Town in Veisari were operating previously under one registration certificate.

“We are grateful, that we can be independent in this sense, and to get registered under the Fiji Higher Education Commission means a lot in terms of the integrity of our institution and the programme it offers,” said Bro Francis.

Admissions into MTI are mainly given to students in the Northern division, irrespective of race and religion, and many students are attracted to the institution from the success stories of its graduates.

The institution currently offers Trade Certificate programmes in cabinet making carpentry and joinery and automotive mechanic. Towards the end of the training at Montfort, the students are conducted trade test by Training Productivity Authority of Fiji, and certificates are given to the successful candidates with class 111 trade certificate.

The Director of the FHEC, Dr Rohit Kishore commended the MTI for working closely with the FHEC to reach this stage of registration and for serving the Northern division by providing vocational training opportunities.

Training locals in Savusavu to be professional chefs is a need. This is the sentiment expressed by Mr Robin Prasad, a businessman and the Head Chef of the Copra Shed-Marina in Savusavu.

Speaking to a team from the Fiji Higher Education Commission (FHEC) visiting Savusavu, Mr Prasad raised that Savusavu and Taveuni are the only places in the Northern Division with great star hotels and where the tourist industry thrives.

“To get chefs from other parts of Fiji will be an expensive exercise; providing accommodation, travel costs, and other allowances. This can be addressed if the chefs are locally available,” explained Mr Prasad.

Mr Prasad, who has been living on the island for 17 years, has been serving in the tourist industry as a chef for almost 24 years.

“Those we employ have very little technical knowledge and skill-set thus the demand for more training and capacity building,” added Mr Prasad. “Having the industrial attachment would not be an issue with the many hotels and resorts available.”

Mr Prasad identified that the professional chefs currently in Savusavu are willing to assist in teaching if a training school is available and hoped that concerned stakeholders can make it happen.

The Fiji Higher Education Commission Director, Dr Rohit Kishore said that the training needs in any industry can be effectively identified by professionals and experienced officers.

“Students in Savusavu should see this demand as an area of interest and pursue related courses along this career path,” added Dr Kishore.

The FHEC is also ready to work closely with industry and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in developing standards for qualifications required by the respective sectors.