By Pesi Fonua

There is no Commonwealth Vocational University registered in the Kingdom of Tonga, education accreditation authorities in Nuku'alofa confirmed today.

They were responding to claims that a Tongan registered entity, the so-called Commonwealth Vocational University, had appointed a Ugandan politician and businessman as its “Resident Director in Charge of Uganda.”

A report in a Kampala news website, the PML Daily [2], on October 18, reported that “the Selection Committee of the Commonwealth ...Vocational University (CVU) situated in the Kingdom of Tonga has appointed Luzindana Adam Buyinza as its Resident Director in Charge of Uganda where he will coordinate the university activities in countries in the East Africa Community.”

According to the Kampala article, the CVU “is a 21st Century new age learning institution ... It is the premier institution of higher learning across the Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean.”

The article stated that the CVU “was issued with a Certificate of Incorporation on 20 August 2014 and a Charter was approved on 13 November 2014.”

This was a surprise to most people in Tonga who have never heard of the university.

No accreditation

However, the Chief Executive Officer of Tonga National Qualification and Accreditation Board (TNQAB) Dr ‘Opeti Pulotu, told Matangi Tonga this afternoon that while the Commonwealth Vocational University had lodged an application with the TNQAB to be registered as a university, some years ago, it was not approved.

“We never issued any certificate of registration to CVU nor registered them as a university here in Tonga.”

Dr Pulotu said that he was informed that the CVU had communications with the former Minister of Education, Penisimani Fifita.

He said the only two registered universities accredited in Tonga are the University of the South Pacific and the Christ's University in Pacific.

Dubai graduation

Meanwhile, Penisimani Fifita, Tonga’s Minister of Education from 2015-19 confirmed today that for the CVU to be registered in Tonga they had to go through the procedure that is under the management of the TNQAB, and he did not think that they had completed that process.

He said they applied when he was a minister. The applicants were hoping to establish the university at Makaunga, a village on Tongatapu's eastern coast, where they were affiliated with a Tongan medical doctor.

Penisimani, who is now the Tongatapu no, 9 People's Representative, also said that the applicants had invited him to go on an overseas trip to a graduation ceremony that they were associated with in Dubai, that he attended.

Honorary doctorates

Meanwhile, according to the Kampala article, the newly appointed “CVU Resident Director in Charge of Uganda” is busy organising honorary doctorates in Uganda: “Luzindana will coordinate nomination and identification of Ugandans to be considered for honorary doctorates Prof Ripu Ranjan Sinha of the University of Tonga stated.”

The article also says that Luzindana: “rose to prominence in 2014 when he led the mass youth movement known as the Uganda Poor Youth Movement as its supreme leader”. Before that, it said that Luzindana was sent to China where he attended leadership training at the Beijing Administrative College of the Communist Party of China.

Inaugurated at Fua'amotu

In 2016 Matangi Tonga reported [3] that a proposed new university for Tonga’s capital – had been inaugurated by the then Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva, but it had not been properly assessed and accredited.

This was after an article in the Times of India on 11 February 2016, reported that the “Commonwealth Vocational University”, was formally inaugurated by PM 'Akilisi Pohiva on 6 February 2016, with the then Minister of Police, Dr Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa (now Tonga's Prime Minister) and the then Minister of Health, Siosaia Piukala in attendance. However, at the time the TNQAB reported that, no request had been received by the proposed university to be assessed and evaluated to see if it met Tonga’s higher education standards.

Links:

Luzindana appointed East Africa Resident Director of Commonwealth Vocation University
https://www.pmldaily.com/news/2020/10/luzindana-appointed-east-africa-re... [2]

New university not yet accredited by TNQAB
https://matangitonga.to/2016/02/19/new-university-not-yet-accredited-tnqab [3]