The University of Fiji has developed two new degree programmes to help students become more versatile in their qualifications and to give them better chances in employment despite the Covid-19 world crisis.

The two programmes are the Bachelor of Medical Health Sciences (BMHS) and the Bachelor of Inter-disciplinary Studies (BIS).

The Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem said the new programmes were developed by the University specifically in reaction to the world economic crisis caused by Covid-19 and in response to TSLB’s suspension of MBBS sponsorship from 2021 as well as its decision to remove sponsorships of students with marks of 200-249 in Year 13 examinations.

She said that the TSLB decisions provided the University with the opportunity to become innovative and find alternative higher education solutions for young people who would find it difficult to go to university.

“The decision to suspend TSLB sponsorships for MBBS study, as well as remove sponsorships for students with less than 250 marks in Year 13, was a big blow to many young people who had already faced a difficult year due to Covid-19 and two tropical cyclones, TCs Yasa and Ana”, Professor Shameem said.

She said that as an institution founded on the need to provide Fijians with equal opportunity in education and to ensure those disadvantaged have a good chance in life like other students, the University had no option but to develop programmes that young people could find affordable as an alternative.

The University has also reduced tuition fees for its first year programmes from 2021 to encourage students to attend university despite financial hardship.

The Bachelor of Inter-disciplinary Studies (BIS) provides a broad-based degree qualification in a combination of humanities and arts, sciences, law, ecology and agro-ecology, business and economics, philosophy, education, agricultural practices, the environment, public finance and start-ups, among others. The BIS inter-disciplinary qualification will provide graduates with a range of relevant subjects for Fijian economic growth and development, said Professor Shameem.

The Bachelor of Medical Health Sciences (BMHS) provides an opportunity to students who cannot enter the MBBS programme due to the suspension of sponsorships. The BMHS is a two-year trimester-based degree programme which will open up other medical health science careers for example as paramedics, dental hygienists, behaviour analysts, health educators, registered diagnostic medical sonographers, registered radiologic technologists, patient care advocates and in public health and epidemiology in response to the Age of the Pandemic.

Most importantly, the BMHS degree will serve as the entry qualification for a future MD or MBBS programme, Professor Shameem said.

Both programmes were approved by the Fiji Higher Education Commission on Friday 29th January. They are now registered on the Fiji Qualifications Framework Register for a period of 5 years.