At Vaiola Hospital,  Ikbal Jannif  admits Mafua Kiokata to the USP Tonga Open Schooling.

The opportunity to enroll at the Open Schooling classes of the USP Campus, Tonga "was a dream come true", for Fine Feuiaki and Mafua Kiokata, two paraplegia patients at Vaiola Hospital.

Fine and Mafua were presented with letters of admission to the USP Campus Tonga Open Schooling classes to finish Form 5 and their secondary education, by the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific Ikbal Jannif on Monday evening, 26 March.

Fine Feuiaki was paralyzed while playing club rugby for his village, Kolonga. He was a hooker, and was still at Form 5. The accident took place 29 years ago.

Mafua Kiokata (26), was one of Tonga's rising stars in the new rugby code, the Australian Football League AFL. He was injured while running on the road, when a passing vehicle smashed into their coach's van, which crushed the two players in 2008.

'Ana Koloto, the director of the USP Campus Tonga said that they heard of the desire by the two patients to continue with their secondary education, and by coincidence that the USP Vice Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra and the Deputy Vice Chancellor Ikbal Jannif were in town for the late King George Tupou V's funeral. They decided to present the two paraplegia patients with their admittances to study at the USP Campus, Tonga, in new Open Schooling classes.

Both Fine and Mafua said they were very excited to have the opportunity to study and sit exams, despite the fact that they are paralyzed.

Last November, the University of the South Pacific Tonga Campus launched Open Schooling, a system of education that does not dictate student ages, prerequisites, content of courses or number of courses in which learners must enroll, and therefore meets the needs of a broad range of learners. Young people who missed out on schooling in their childhood can pursue a secondary education without having to attend classes with much younger children; young mothers can learn at home and attend tutorials when necessary, and working adults can study while continuing to earn a living.

Vice Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra and the Deputy Vice Chancellor Ikbal Jannif 

 Ikbal Jannif hands Fine Feuiaki his admittance to USP Open Schooling

Mafua Kiokata