Opinions and Attitudes of Students
on the Goals of U S P
Kauraka Kauraka
A brief survey was carried out in 1984 to obtain data that might be useful
to staff and students of the University of the South Pacific (USP)
concerning the degree to which student opinions, attitudes and group
organisation affect the achievement of the goals of the University,
especially regionalism. The questionnaire also explored what students
know about the goals and objectives of the University. The items for it
were extracted from the University Charter (as in USP's 1980 Calendar,
p. 302) and the statements of the then Vice-Chancellor, Dr. James Maraj,
(ibid pp. 57-58) about what the University should be.
1 attempted to obtain an equal' number of non-Fiji and Fiji full-time
students for comparative purposes. Of the intended 50, some 45 students
filled in the questionnaires. The sample was done on a volunteer basis.
66.6% of the persons who filled in the questionnaire were male and the
same percentage were full-time students. 81% were in the 17-34 years age
range. There was an almost equal number of single and married persons.
Most (62.2%) of the subjects were Fiji citizens and 71% of those in the
sample had been studying at USP between 1 and 4 years.
Most of the students (93.3%) in the sample agreed that "USP is a regional
institution" and "serves as a major resource centre for development for its
member countries", but only (77.7%) agreed that "USP is concerned with
the quality and standards of its own academic sholarship".
The goal: "USP will serve as a major resource centre for development for
its members" received the most numerous response (46.6%) as the most
important goal of the University. Of the 22 persons who gave this
response, 8 were Fijians, 4 Fiji-Indians and 10 non-Fiji students. The high
proportion of non-Fiji students suggests a difference between them and
Fiji students in how they perceive this goal.
The goal: "that USP will continue to strive to be a regional institution"
received the least favourable rating as an important goal for the
University. Of the 16 persons who rated this goal as least important, 9
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were Fijians, 3 Fiji-Indians and 4 non-Fiji students. The high proportion
of Fiji students again suggests a contrasting perception of this goal in
comparison to non-Fiji students. Fiji students seem to be less concerned
about the goal of regionalism than non-Fiji students.
I aimed to test the students' knowledge of what the University has
planned and is doing about its goals. 95.5% of the students were aware of
"expanding the Extension Services in the region", but only 16.6% were
aware of plans for "the transferring of Preliminary I work to Extension
Services".
The University activity which interested students most was "expanding
the Extension Services in the region" which was followed closely by
"strengthening the vocational orientation of first year degree and diploma
programmes", which seems to reflect a preference for practical-oriented
goals.
In a section for voluntary expressions of ideas only 17 of the 45 students
commented. In regard to the University goal of promoting regionalism, 5
suggested how it might be achieved more effectively (for example, one
student suggested that the Vice-Chancellor should continue to come from
outside Fiji to prevent domination by Fiji, which would defeat the ideal
of regionalism). Ten commented on the University goal of maintaining its
academic standards. Of these 10, 7 expressed dissatisfaction with the
limited range and insufficient practical nature of the present courses. Of
the goal relating to serving the member countries of the region, the only
comment was one which said that tertiary education should be taken to
the people wherever they are. The findings suggest that many students are
preoccupied with course work rather than University goals.
It was suggested that the present organisational structure of student
groups is not conducive to promoting regionalism. The students' ethno-
centric interests were assumed to be the major factor causing this
problem.
The findings of all sections in the questionnaire suggest a consistent
pattern of opinions and attitudes among the students in the sample. Most
agree with the goals of the University, but the ethnic origin of the
students seems to influence the degree to which they prioritise particular
goals. Students from outside Fiji respond more favourably to regionalism
than Fiji citizens. This could be an important problem for the University
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to consider.
Thus, although students generally agree with the ideal of regionalism,
they have yet to acquire regional attitudes appropriate to the ideal of
committing themselves to activities outside their country of origin. The
present organisational structure of the student bodies such as USPSA
and other groups may not facilitate this ideal of regionalism. For
example, cultural groups encourage students to separate into ethnic
groups but few organisations (e.g. Christian Union, USP Arts
Association) encourage the mixing of students of different ethnicity in
order to promote regionalism. Even the sporting clubs tend to be
organised according to ethnic groups. Fijians tend to be dominant
numerically in rugby, Indians or Solomon Islanders in soccer, and so on.
The problem for the University is to create organisational structures that
support regionalism, whereby students are expected to mix in certain
situations and learn to get along with one another. There seems to be an
over-emphasis on national/ethnic groupings at present on the USP
campus. Reorganisation seems necessary. So if regionalism is to be
fostered, a reorganisation of student clubs' ethnic composition and the
encouragement of cross-cultural understanding seems appropriate and
necessary.
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