Fiji National University (FNU) has extended its break for all its students till Friday 17 April, with online classes now scheduled to commence from Monday 20 April.
The decision was made during a Senior Management Group (SMG) meeting yesterday.
Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor James Pounder said the decision was in line with measures being implemented by the Fijian Government to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases in the country.
According to Professor Pounder, FNU is also concerned with the welfare of its students and staff and is following a similar precautionary approach.
“We are working closely with our line ministry, the Ministry of Education, government agencies and with other tertiary institutions to safeguard everyone from this pandemic,” said Professor Pounder.
“Fiji National University applauds the continued efforts of the Fijian Government and all agencies involved in battling COVID-19.”
The break extends to all FNU students, studying in the semester, trimester, penster and quarter modes and including those studying under the Technical College of Fiji (TCF).
All Colleges are currently working on updating their Moodle course sites with online content and activities for students. Students and academic staff have been circulated relevant guides and resources in preparation for greater online learning and teaching. The University will be using this extended break to further pilot the online mode to ensure a smooth transition.
For online postgraduate programmes, online delivery will continue. Assessment modification will be considered where appropriate for this group of students. For online undergraduate courses, the delivery may continue but assessments procedures and timings need to be modified to suit all enrolled students wherever possible. For any queries, please liaise with your course coordinators and HODs.
A gentle reminder to all Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates that their programme continues with online delivery of research preparatory courses and regular online meetings with their supervisors. HDR candidates are not entitled to a mid-semester break, however, full-time HDR candidates are entitled to 20 days annual leave, and part-time candidates are allowed 10 days annual leave.
The Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research is contactable via email to organise online candidature confirmation; mid candidature confirmation and completion seminars.
Meanwhile, FNU Campuses and Centres remain closed with essential staff only on Campus to look after residential students. FNU staff have, since Monday 23 March, been advised to work from home and this will continue until further notice.
The University operations are being reviewed regularly and staff and students are reminded to follow the University’s social media page, website and FNUPR for any latest updates.
Students and staff are also advised to strictly adhere to the movement restrictions that have been implemented by Government, including the 8pm to 5am daily curfew hours.