Tonga National University (TNU) is facing serious questions after Parliament was told that students had paid for and completed courses only to discover that their qualifications were not accepted by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The parliamentary exchange between two MPs and the Minister for Education failed to resolve the issue, leaving fundamental questions about the programmes’ accreditation and the PSC’s refusal to recognise the qualifications unanswered.
Tongatapu 7 MP Piveni Piukala said graduates from TNU’s Business Faculty had complained that the PSC refused to recognise their qualifications, reportedly because the programmes had not been accredited by the Tonga National Qualifications and Accreditation Board (TNQAB).
Piukala said the students had paid for, completed and passed the courses.
The concern intensified when Tongatapu 4 MP Mateni Tapueluelu said similar complaints had repeatedly been raised during his constituency visit.
He told Parliament that those involved had confirmed that some TNU courses had not yet been accredited, and he questioned how this had been allowed to happen.
Students Charged Before Course Accreditation
If those accounts are correct, the controversy raises two separate concerns: why the PSC did not recognise the students’ qualifications, and whether TNU had delivered some courses before securing the necessary accreditation.
Minister for Education Moʻale ʻOtunuku appeared unaware of the alleged situation and did not confirm whether it had occurred at TNU. Instead, he explained that no TNU programme should be taught until it had been approved and accredited by TNQAB. He added that whether another organisation recognised the resulting qualification was a separate issue.
His explanation reinforced the seriousness of the MPs’ allegations: if the programmes were genuinely unaccredited, they should not have been offered in the first place.
The crucial questions now are whether TNU knew the programmes lacked accreditation when it enrolled the students, what representations it made about PSC recognition, and what compensation or remedy will be provided if the complaints are substantiated.
The PSC and TNU could not immediately be reached for comment.
