Karavaki Says the Vice-chancellor’s Actions May Attract Charges.

Fiji National University Council Chair and Chancellor Semesa Karavaki has said that actions taken by the vice-chancellor could amount to serious disciplinary breaches and potentially further charges from the Police and FICAC, as governance tensions at the university continue to escalate.

Speaking in a video interview with The Fiji Times, Karavaki said the issues stemmed from whistleblower reports and direct complaints received by the FNU Council, including concerns over the promotion of certain staff members to professor and assistant professor positions.

Karavaki said the Fiji National University Act is clear on where the authority for professorial appointments lies.

“The Act empowers the Council to award or bestow someone as a professor. That power sits with the Council,” Karavaki said.

“However, we have not seen any cases brought before the Council, yet we continue to see people being promoted to professor."

According to the FNU Act, the final approval for promotions to Professor must come from the Council.

He said this situation persisted for almost three years, raising serious concerns about compliance with the law and the integrity of governance processes at the university.

According to the whistleblower report, several promotions to professor and assistant professor were allegedly granted to individuals who did not meet the minimum qualification requirements, did not have a PhD and were done arbitrarily without the mandatory council approval. The report further alleges that these promotions resulted in significant salary increases for certain individuals.

As FNU is a public body established under an Act of Parliament, such matters likely fall within the jurisdiction of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), particularly where public funds and abuse of office may be involved.

The situation escalated further when Karavaki said he went to campus to prepare for a scheduled Council meeting, only to be instructed by security officers to leave the premises.

He has alleged that the directive came from the vice-chancellor and her management team, whom he noted is a subordinate of the council and appointed by it.

“For a subordinate to prevent the Chair of Council from entering his office is insubordination and an abuse of office,” Karavaki said, adding that this incident could amount to an additional charge on top of matters already under investigation.

Karavaki said members of the vice-chancellor’s management team were already facing potential disciplinary action, and that the events surrounding his removal from campus had further compounded the seriousness of the situation.

FNU management has denied blocking Karavaki’s access, stating that additional security was deployed as a precautionary measure due to theft and security concerns and that all Council members retain unrestricted access to university facilities, despite the entire incident occurring on video.