Professor Pal Ahluwalia

Professor Ahluwalia and his wife Sandy Price were welcomed by a group of staff and student at Nadi International Airport this morning.

Ahluwalia has been working out of the Samoa Campus in Alafua since March 2022.

This is the first time that they are back in the country since their deportation on 4 February 2021 when the then government claimed Ahluwalia and Price breached conditions of their work permits.

“We have arrived in beautiful Samoa. Everybody has been so wonderful and understanding. We are now in quarantine. No feeling like being back home in the Pacific. Our sincere thanks to everyone,” Pal said on Twitter.

Pal and his partner Sandra Price were in Nauru since February last year following their deportation from Fiji.

The Fiji government deported Pal and Price claiming they continuously breached by the Immigration Act.

The government has decided to withhold millions in funding as long as Professor Pal Ahluwalia remained in the job.

The USP staff associations, in an open letter, said that what they call a vendetta has not been seen before in the USP's 52 years.

They said the illegal suspension and subsequent deportation of Professor Ahluwalia has resulted in levels of unity and support for him from students, staff, alumni and communities across the region and the world.

He resumed today for a 3-year term.

He is based at the USP   Samoa Campus.   

Professor Ahluwalia was re-selected to this position by the USP Council. The USP Council had agreed to offer Professor Ahluwalia a new contract following its meeting on 2 June, 2021. 

Before joining the University, Professor Ahluwalia held leadership positions at the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom and at the University of South Australia respectively.  

He has a PhD in Politics from Flinders University and a Master and Bachelor of Arts from the 

The governing body of the regional university also voted to relocate the Vice Chancellor's office from the USP's main campus in Suva, Fiji, to the its Alafua Campus in Apia, Samoa.

Professor Ahluwalia and his wife were forced to leave Fiji in early February after the government claimed the couple had breached provisions in their work permits.

It was the latest in a series of efforts to sideline Professor Ahluwalia following his allegations of serious mismanagement and abuse of office at the USP.

Ratu Epeli Nailatikau ruled that an Oral Question from NFP leader Biman Prasad and an Adjournment Motion from Sodelpa leader Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu were not of urgent natures.

The deportation of the regional body's vice-chancellor has led to widespread regional criticism of Fiji's government and urgent calls for action.

However, speaker Ratu Epeli said Mr Prasad's question did not relate to a matter of public importance and did not qualify as urgent.

Further, the Adjournment Motion was disallowed under standing orders.

 Immigration and police officers detained and later deported the head of the University of the South Pacific late on Wednesday on allegations that he had breached public safety.

 The Pacific Regional NGO (PRNGO) Alliance in a statement said the heavy handed decision by the Fiji Government to deport the University of the South Pacific (USP) Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia and his partner Sandra Price ahead of a USP Council meeting is a sign of growing crisis of regionalism.