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USPGATE: VC Rajesh Chandra under fire from Pacific Islanders from USP; they accuse him of corruption, abuse of office and mismanagement

29/5/2015

27 Comments

 

"An independent inquiry is the only way to resolve and find out the extent of the rot in the University. Fiji government which is a largest contributor to the budget should ask Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) to investigate the abuse of office by the Vice Chancellor. The Council must take charge after its meeting in June so that a proper evaluation is taken before the funding commitment for the next 3 years."

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A. Introduction

We as concerned Pacific Islanders who are proud of USP have serious concerns about the future of the University under the leadership of Rajesh Chandra. We know there have been several complaints in the past but these have been conveniently ignored and Rajesh Chandra has been cleared and he got his contract renewed. We also know that the investigations were in- house by the former Chair of Council, Mr. Ikbal Janif who was elected under dubious circumstances and engineered by the VC himself. He only won on a casting vote by the Chair of the Council. Ikbal Janif was also supported by Filipe Bole, Former Minister who is VC Chandra’s good friend and VC Chandra was cleared without any independent investigation. Since then there have been more issues and we cannot ignore this anymore.

Some of us who complained last time by putting our names were sued in the court in Fiji and hence we are not putting our names on this issue. Most of us who complained against harassment continue to face harassment by the hands of the thugs that VC keeps in each section on the university. These thugs have become so brave that they even verbally harass us in corridors and nothing is done about it.

But the issues we want to highlight are more serious and a lot of what was happening has accumulated to a point where it is now a crisis. We humbly request the USP Council and other stakeholders to have an independent investigation at USP.

1. There was much hype about the strategic plan for 2013-2018 which was used as a transformation document to renew VC Chandra’s contract. A closer look would suggest a big failure. An honest assessment for the last two years- 2013-2014 would suggest that more than 60% of what was to be achieved has not been achieved, for example the STAR review, campus development and appointment of professors etc. An independent audit would spell all this out.

2. STAR project has also been a failure and again the review done by USP through a consultant hired by the VC does not provide a true picture.

3. The ‘good to excellent’ is a dream which will never be realized under the leadership of VC Chandra as espoused in the strategic plan. Leadership of the University at all levels has been wanting and that is why the objectives of the strategic plan will not be realized.

4. There has been lack of leadership at the SMT level and one would have to ask the following questions: Why have so many SMT members left under VC Chandra:

i. Greg Arrowsmith- HR Director – soon after joining USP

ii. Munish Malik- Director Finance- left prematurely

iii. Susan Kelly- Deputy VC- left after dispute. She was paid a large sum by USP as compensation for the left over contract. Susan Kelly’s only fault was that she raised the issue of the murder-suicide of a student (Joytika) and the role of some senior staff who were close buddies of the VC (Professor Sudesh Mishra). This matter has only been superficially investigated and swept under the carpet.

iv. Michael Gregory- Pro VC Planning and Quality- left in frustration. In this case VC Chandra committed abuse of office- where he authorized payment including tax paid on his behalf. This issue has also been swept under the carpet as well.

v. Biman Prasad- Dean FBE- Resigned early in his second term. The acting Dean appointed is just a senior lecturer has been there for the last 3 years. VC has not been able to recruit a dean for FBE in the last 3 years.

vi. Heather Stadel- new HR Director left early. No director and hardly any senior staff left.

vii. Professor John Bythell- just left his DVC position. Privately John Bythell was very upset with the dictatorial style of the VC.

To cover up, he hurriedly got an old man appointed as Acting DVC for a year and we think the University beached Fiji government immigration policy.

viii. Mr. Adish Naidu- one of the best Director of Physical Planning and Facilities. He was wrongfully suspended. The first preliminary committee did not find anything against him but VC instituted another round of investigation (abuse of power and office) but still could not find anything. Adish Naidu was reinstated but after a while decided to leave the University and we believe a civil court action is underway and University will end up paying him compensation. We here [hear] now that VC has forced a appointment of a foreigner who is not even qualified over regional candidates.

ix. We are told that there are serious cracks in the SMT and it is likely that two senior SMT members could leave in frustration sooner than later. One of them is highly qualified regional Vice President from Tonga.

x. The Vice Chancellor has adopted and increasingly dictatorial style of management and in the process has made several blunders and has hidden them from the council. The case of the promotion of Dr. Anjeela Jokhan to Associate Professor is a scandal and has been swept under the carpet. The Vice Chancellor reportedly manipulated the procedure, changed rules and forced his way to promote her despite objection by SMT members like Deputy Vice Chancellor Susan Kelly- who provided a written objection. THIS IS A MAJOR SCANDAL- IN ANY UNIVERSITY THE VICE CHANCELLOR WOULD HAVE BEEN SACKED. (all the papers should be in the HR office)

xi. Apart from SMT members many senior professors have left the University in frustration. Tourism professor, psychology professor, geography professor, mathematics professor, economics head and professor and several others. Officially they will appear like they have normally left but many of them left in frustration. In the strategic plan, the target was to get 60 professors- we hardly have 20 full-time professors in the university and it is almost impossible for the University to recruit more professors in the next few years.

xii. It would be interesting to account for all the reviews that have been undertaken by consultants under VC Chandra. Every time he makes a blunder in a section such as HR, Finance etc. he orders a review and the recommendations of the review are never implemented. Just take the case of the HR section. Since his appointment as VC in 2008 VC Chandra has not been able to sort out that section. Recently he has decided again to review the HR section when many reviews and consultants have already done the review, made money and have left. Donors have happily funded these reviews in good faith but the results have been disappointing.

B. UGC Submission 2016-2018- LIES AND EXAGGERATION

1. The University Council and stakeholders must scrutinize this document carefully because our analysis shows that it is actually a fraud on the University. Most of the responses are massaged to portray a good picture without any tangible outcomes. In some cases there are outputs but the outcome is still nowhere to be seen. Some key points to note and which needs further clarification and interrogation. They are as follows:

i. The projected surplus of $22.5 million over the next three years is an exaggeration and unachievable.

ii. For example recommendation 2.6 in the last UGC report on campus expansion. The response of the University is somewhat of a lie. The business plans for Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Lautoka and Labasa have all been exaggerated. While Kiribati campus is progressing- it had to go through new requests for funding. Solomon Islands campus site was not properly done and University pushed for an unrealistic location and is shifting the blame on the Solomon Islands Government when it should have known that the location was unrealistic. Lautoka campus land was traded for bigger land but the price for the new one was not negotiated well and USP now finds that the FSC wants a higher price. This project would be dead. So the response of the University to the last UGC recommendation has not been an honest one. This pattern of response is found in all the responses to the last UGC report.

iii. UGC and council members would remember that VC Chandra pushed for government contribution reduction over the last six years, playing politics with the regional governments. Having asked for the reduction in government funding for the last several years- he now comes up with the request that government contribution be increased by 10% for the next three years. This is an absolute blunder. Governments will now be burdened to increase their contribution in a big way. This shows poor planning and management of finances by VC Chandra.

iv. More worrying is his insistence that University could save $15 million dollars over the next three years. This is again exaggerated and design to hoodwink the council members. Our analysis shows that even a $5 million dollar saving in the next three years would be near impossible. In 2014 the surplus was only $300,000- how he can save $15 million or even $5 million over three years is mind-boggling.

v. Careful analysis of the budgets and surpluses for the last several years shows that the University actually misled the council on surpluses, income and expenditure.

vi. There seems to be confusion with the deferred revenue, projects funds and surpluses. These have not been clearly presented.

vii. On the expenditure side, under VC Chandra, expenditure has been poorly managed. Large amounts have been paid as legal fees to lawyers (______ of, Munro Leys operates from USP), and compensation paid to staff who have taken the University to court- a thorough investigation on this aspect will reveal poor management and leadership.

viii. Several expenditures relating to buildings, repair and maintenance is done without careful planning and there are always over expenditures. Expatriates get the favour from the VC. Recently he has authorized a new flat for an expatriate Vice President as a special favour to him.

Project fund management.


The biggest blunder USP made is with respect to the PICPA project and others. PICPA project had a budget of about $45-50 million but lack of leadership by USP and Vice Chancellor saw the Australian government withdrawing most of it (roughly F$40million). It is run by a small complement of staff who does consultancies at high rates and also receive pay. Arvind Patel – who is VC’s favourite (‘it needs to be noted that this academic had sexual, professional harassment cases, he even was investigated by FICAC for taking undeclared cash at the airport. He has never allowed anyone to be appointed/promoted.) His HoS appointment itself is against the staff policy

ix. is now acting Director and we are told – he receives close to $400,000 per year in addition to in-house consultancies he is getting.

x. Payment of inflated salaries to certain favourite staff- Husmuk Lal- Director TVET; Jai Karan, receiving commission we here [hear] - Arvind Patel and others who are close to VC.

xi. Engagement of foreign consultants- some of them are known personally to the Vice Chancellor. Some of them are retired people with not much to offer have been hired as consultants in a consistent manner and without any tender process. A fellow from Melbourne, called Frank Larkins travels business class on a regular basis to offer advice and on an astounding daily consultancy package.

xii. Value for money for these consultants is a key question and how much the University has spent on them and what value it has added or how it has led to any tangible benefits.

C. Concluding Comments


The University is at the crossroads. IN MANY WAYS IT HAS REACHED A CRISIS POINT. It could end up being a big failure if the Council and the UGC and governments do not scrutinize the financial, academic and governance aspects of the University. We could be heading towards a sustainable decline of the University. Only and independent inquiry into the operations of the University would bring out the real mismanagement and decline of the university in the last several years.

The council should investigate why the VC has a rule that no staff can take any complaint to the Council level. What if a senior SMT is being discriminated and the VC has an issue. Where does this SMT member go to?
For several years the Vice Chancellor has managed to feed exaggerated outputs and achievements of the University to the council and donors especially Australia and New Zealand. They need to raise some critical questions in an independent manner.

The Council may have been reduced to a rubber stamp by the VC because of the communication and his reporting to the Council based on what he wants from different sections to report.

An independent inquiry is the only way to resolve and find out the extent of the rot in the University. Fiji government which is a largest contributor to the budget should ask Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) to investigate the abuse of office by the Vice Chancellor. The Council must take charge after its meeting in June so that a proper evaluation is taken before the funding commitment for the next 3 years.

http://www.fijileaks.com/home/uspgate-while-usp-claims-it-doesnt-have-2m-to-fix-crumbling-staff-accommodations-it-is-forking-out-120000-to-renovate-the-vc-rajesh-chandras-house-and-more-to-be-spent-one-perk-for-vc-another-for-staff

http://www.fijileaks.com/home/usp-staff-skullduggery-crying-out-for-answers-from-vc-chandra

http://www.fijileaks.com/home/dictatorship-at-usp-regime-lackey-vc-rajesh-chandra-takes-a-leaf-out-of-his-guardian-khaiyums-book-to-demand-grievances-and-internal-differences-are-hidden-within-confines-of-university-and-not-made-public

http://www.fijileaks.com/home/usp-betrayal-craddock-refuses-to-sign-the-apology-letter-accuses-esther-williams-and-heather-stadel-of-betrayal-listen-to-the-audio-tape-there-was-no-mention-of-further-actioni-have-broken-no-rules

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ANY TIPS: FNU's vice-chancellor Dr Ganesh Chand, left, with USP's vice-chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra, and deputy vice-chancellor Dr Esther Williams during a meeting at the head office in Suva in 2013
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2015: Ganesh Chand on his way to High Court
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Fijileaks:
More e-mails from inside USP on various corrupt matters will be revealed; FNUGATE - We are not finished with FNU, more coming soon!

27 Comments
MQ52
29/5/2015 02:20:29 am

New VP Delowar had USP commit 150k for flat upgrade and now he is refusing to move in demanding more extravagance including a herb garden.

He too will leave prematurely like Susan Kelly, both raking up to 400k in renovations alone, what a waste,,,regional government and taxpayers demand explanation.

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Master
29/5/2015 02:22:44 am

Jai Kumar's post was never advertised. Jai Kumar was sacked in his previous appointment.What is his qualification?? He got his job through the wife!!!

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What about other appointments link
29/5/2015 03:32:55 am

What about Husmuck. Is he the most qualified , what procedures were followed for his appointment and what is his pay. Dean FSTE?, DVC Pauga?, Arvind Patel, Boila, Rajesh likes to be surrounded by people who don't question his decisions regardless how pathetic. Anyone who questions is fired. All at USP know that and his thugs do the same in their own sections. Monkey see monkey do going around at USP.

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Narsimam Narayan
30/5/2015 12:17:42 am

Staff petition against HOS economics has been swept under the carpet

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Johnny
29/5/2015 03:36:56 am

Arvind Patel and Kolinio Boila are two supporters of the mobster. Boila has no real qualification or expertise to run the finance department and Rajesh is taking full advantage of it. Council needs to sack Patel & Boila and replace with competing individuals who can think independantly rather than being a puppet.

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Accounting at USP- from letters to the editor Uncensored link
29/5/2015 04:02:23 am


Sandip Chand
2 hrs · Edited
USP Accounting Studies Corruption
USP Accounting scaling & corruption?
It’s obvious when you see more local professors in Accounting!
From a student: Todays FM301 lecture, the professor announced USP Accounting head is saying his contract is not going to be renewed but Vice Chancellor allowed him 6 months renewal.
What is this? Students getting discouraged by Unethical accounting board in USP. Rumors is most students are to be failed via scaling for this course and due to more students interest in Accounting field scaling criteria will be high to discourage students to leave or stay long and spend more.
Wonder what Rajesh will do about this. Setup another review committee with his foreign buddies as chair and then say " no case to answer". Or just butter his Minister of Education friend and silence everyone. After all isn't he a close buddy of Aiyaaz and is thus untouchable! As stated on fb: "I strongly believe Accounting management & Accounting studies in USP needs to be reviewed by Ministry of Education. Accounting is part of Education NOT game to select winners only. I think we need Accounting Expats to teach in Uni who award students what actually they deserve and not local Professors.
I would like to see comments of X uni students from USP who feel they were penalized in Accounting studies & were silent in fear of being marked by Accounting management."

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rajend naidu
29/5/2015 09:46:54 am

Editor,
Taking UEFA's call for FIFA President Sepp Blatter to step down after revelations of FIFA corruption, Sport 360 staff did a public survey on the question : Should Blatter resign as FIFA president? The YES vote got 90 percent.
But this is not how voting is likely to happen when votes are cast in Zurich in the FIFA presidential election.
FIFA has a pervasive culture of cronyism and sycophancy which has been cultivated and harvested by Sepp Blatter during his 17 years as FIFA president..
In his address to the FIFA delegates before the voting Sepp Blatter said his stay in FIFA has been too short !, ( he's been there for 40 years, 17 as a president ).
His cronies and sycophants are likely to agree with him. Is it any wonder FIFA is the way it is - a corrupt , mafia style outfit?
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu
Sydney

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yash
29/5/2015 11:45:51 am

Next to be investigated will be Kamlesh Aryan.

Pack your bags and get ready for naboro

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maro pito
29/5/2015 03:18:55 pm

Rajend Naidu Dr Shau Khan will stand for FIFA President will be there for another 20 years.

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rajend naidu
29/5/2015 05:45:22 pm

When Dr Sahu Khan was Fiji FA president - and he was for 3 decades or so - he was also at FIFA president Sepp Blatter's coattail in much the same way many bosses of soccer bodies from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania continue to be today.
Sucking up to the FIFA president Sepp Blatter ensured them their privileges - what a sports commentator called their five star hotel lifestyle.

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Wastage and abuse at USP
29/5/2015 08:21:46 pm

Dilwar was brought to USP as an IT expert but quickly made USP Vice President by VC Rajesh Chandra to carry out hatchet job against staff. Renovation costs at Dilwar's USP housing has spiraled because of his demands such as tube from his bedroom connected to a washing machine to drop his laundry, including underwear, directly into the tub. Dilawar occupies three houses at USP - one for all his stuff, one house in which he is currently staying and one under renovation. this is the kind of abuse happening under VC Rajesh Chandra. Favoured staff are living like maharajahs while junior staff are bullied and subdued and USP cries poor when it comes to pay them. Donors should ask for full accountability as USP is becoming increasingly corrupt and wasteful due to poor management..

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Failed USP VC Rahesh Chandra
29/5/2015 08:43:05 pm

Rajesh Chandra has achieved nothing at USP. He has taken the institution back. His major policy failure is that he made USP overly reliant on donor aid, which is highly risky and unsustainable. Now some donors want to reduce aid so USP in trouble. Before, under visionary VC's, USP member countries used to contribute financially but Rajesh Chandra destroyed this model by asking member countries to reduce their allocation. Rajesh put USP on a a dependency model at the expense of losing sovereignty and kowtowing to donors. Now it is back to square one with asking member countries to increase allocation to offset decline from donors. He should have never asked for reduced financing in the first place but he is a VC with no foresight, He made member countries abdicate their responsibilities to tertiary education in the region, He is a failed VC who has done a lot of damage to USP.

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Shakespeare Wallah
29/5/2015 09:09:39 pm

There is hope on the horizon. We learn that the Globe Theatre production of 'Hamlet' is to come into FIji next month for a single performance at the USP Japan centre. This is unprecedented. Hamlet contains timeless and lasting lessons for life which transcend cultural context. The USP will now need to 'lift its act' in the realm of governance and consider the rot that was revealed in the Danish Court by the appearance of the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father. Some serious self-examination is called for along the lines of: "Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I?" (Act 2 scene II)

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orzy
29/5/2015 09:49:00 pm

I remember when he took up the post from his predecessor Prof Tarr, he was instrumental in forking out weaknesses and corrupt practises in USP and labelled Tarr -a corrupt leader. As soon as he took up the VC position, he reduced the number of faculties, removed staff positions which he said was a waste of money. The results was felt not too long. USP lost most of its fine staffs.

What about you Rajesh? You always bragged about transparency, cost savings, budget control, etc... What now? You are more corrupt than all your predecessors at USP.
why not do the honorable and resign. Your leadership speaks volumes, yes, on illegal practices, nepotism and tyranny.
Time to bundle up and say goodbye to USP. Your time is up boci.

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Western Heat
29/5/2015 11:28:54 pm

USP VC is just like FNU VC. Corrupted to the bone. They will be remembered only for the wrong reasons. He should respectfully resign or else they will haul him out and heave him to court at the same time....just like his corrupted brother...Ganesh Chand

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Coup 2006
30/5/2015 03:30:40 am

All part of the traitors of the 2006 coup.....all will be investigated after Bai Kai falls in 2018.......
What goes around comes around...
The arrogance and corruption of Bai & Kai.,,,,,,nil moral grounds.......
They will fall soon....

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tomasi koroi
30/5/2015 03:09:11 pm

Fijians have full confidence in Rajesh. Its the Tongans who are against him. They masi polo their Masaso, an incompetent Tongan, who was made VP. They want him to be made the VC. Soon we will have to seek our pound of flesh from the Tongans. We have let them alone for too long. Leave Rajesh alone.

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no confidence just bullshit and lies link
31/5/2015 09:18:22 pm

You are forgetting the slay techniques used by Raje sh to appoint Musaso. He wanted to have someone who never questioned his actions s and decisions. He is the most cunning and manipulating scum USP could ever get. He is not for anyone except himself. Helping locals- like he'll he does!

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Chiku
30/5/2015 05:20:26 pm

USP VC Rajesh Chandra is not the first to go down that path of abuse , aggrandisement, and accumulation when lodged in power. Many in power end up that way. That is why Lord Acton made that point about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely.
What kind of power does Rajesh Chandra possess as USP Vice chancellor and president?
That will tell us a fair bit about the man.

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rajend naidu
30/5/2015 06:35:17 pm

Editor,
It is hard not to agree with Annabel Crabb that " America did the world a massive favour when it went groping around in the murk of football's most notorious FIF- dom " ( ' FIFA corruption : God bless America for showing red card ' canberra times 30/05 ).
" ... For years we've all been standing around kicking the dirt and grumbling about how dodgy FIFA is... by 2010 FIFA resembled a cult of mad cardinals ( who ) voted to approve the World Cup to be staged in the middle of a desert with temperatures of 50 degrees. .. The fact that an average of one migrant worker a day has died working on the stadiums in the last three years seems to have occasioned minimal sleeplessness around at FIFA HQ ".
And let us not forget the $ 600 million stadium built for the World Cup in Brazil that has now turned into a white elephant . Is this part of the greatness of FIFA ?
It is criminal for a country to be coerced into building such a grand stadium which is what FIFA did when a large proportion of the population is without adequate health, education and welfare and transport infrastructure.
It is high time the way FIFA was doing business - and that's what it is doing big time - was scrutinised by competent outside authorities.
FIFA cannot be trusted to clean up its act on its own steam.
Notwithstanding What the five re- elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter blathers.
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu
Sydney

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Bahuki
31/5/2015 11:33:49 pm

Abuse of office and other unethical practices going on at USP, it sure does sound very interesting since some people are not doing their jobs appropriately from what I'm reading here

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Tomasi Koroi
1/6/2015 02:14:22 am

Yes, Rajesh went out of his way to appoint Masaso. Masaso would not even have made it to the short list had it not been for his Tongan-ness. And then, when appointed, he pays back Rajesh by getting Rajesh stabbed in his back by his Tongan henchmen. It is this backstabbing trait of Tongans what we hate - they have been doing this to Fijians for decades. Rajesh is an angel, compared to these Tongans. They cant even run a high school in Tonga, and have dreams of running a University.

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To USP VC
1/6/2015 05:15:55 pm

USP is a regional organization but it is quite evident that is run buy Fiji Gov't thugs and one and only Rajesh.

What I don't know is whether the agencies and regional Gov'ts that contribute to the running of USP affairs are aware of the mishap at USP.

Victor, your are doing great by exposing all these to the world. Please make headlines in the region, including AUST. NZ media..

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Tomasi Koroi
2/6/2015 01:53:04 am

Fiji gives $39m each year to USP. How much Tonga pays? Less than half million. Victor may be blinded by taking fine tooth comb to find nits to lynch IndoFijians - an example of guilty and inferiority complex. But truth remains in the figures. Rajesh turned around USP from a near bankruptcy, brought about by an expatriate. Now FNU is headed same way with an Expatriate who no one will investigate despite Victor revealing abuse of credit cards. Even Victor has been silenced. We salute Rajesh. Let Tongans wail. Fiji will continue to control USP.

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Drunk with Rajesh charishma link
3/6/2015 02:52:09 pm

Rajesh will leave the university in a worse shape than any other VC before him. Words are around that there will no new appointments from next year. Chances of redundancy very high from 2016. Money saving technique in place to hide massive mismanagement, lies, heavy admin pays, and large packets he has given his favourties. There is no Fijian, Tongan, regional issue. It is only to keep his favorites so that he can live like a king.

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Tomasi Koroi
3/6/2015 05:19:56 pm

Dont build strawman and then shoot him down. Facts are: (a) Rajesh turned the University around financially; (b) largest growth of campuses have taken place under Rajesh's leadership; (c) deadwood - those who dont come to classes, who spend all their time in pubs, etc., have been sent home, etc. More needs to be done. But this is the best cleanup one can see in years. No VC from 1980 did that apart from Siwatibau. He may have stepped on some shoes, and he may have been advised wrongly on occassions, but in the bigger picture, he has excelled. Tongans hate this. All petitions have been organised by Tongans. They cant see a Fijian, let alone an Indo-Fijian, lead USP. Cry babies. Go and build good high schools in Tonga, I say.

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Ratu
27/5/2016 04:26:01 am

Vijay Naidu is 65yrs. USP should make way for other people. USP has very poor succession planning, old farts want to keep working and dont want to make way for young pple. All over 65yrs must go and fresh blood must come in.

And it is high time we find out the salaries of all Senior Management Team as it is now at Tarr's level. All SMT salaries are in dark, not published and transparent. We hear Pony Tail Delowar is getting $350K for delivering shitt. Very soon the salary details will be given. Keep watching this space for more.

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