Professor Biman Prasad
20 February, 2021, 7:30 pm
University of the South Pacific vice chancellor and president Professor Pal Ahluwalia congratulates graduates after the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education graduation at the FMF Gymnasium in Laucala Bay, Suva on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Picture: JONACANI LALAKOBAU
The whistleblowing vice-chancellor at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Professor Pal Ahluwalia, has described the illegal deportation of he and his wife, Sandra Price, as a “surreal” experience.
Many would agree that the inhumane and immoral deportation has plunged the tertiary institution into the biggest crisis of its 50-plus-year history.
The ensuing standoff between USP host country Fiji and the university governing body, the USP Council, has put the institution’s funding at risk, and its future in jeopardy. In another surreal episode, Fiji’s Prime Minister and Immigration Minister, Frank Bainimarama, chose to airily downplay the situation, apparently hoping that the controversy would blow away.