N.U.S abolishes use of "Tapa'au" and "Fa'aao ole Univesite" titles

By Soli Wilson 13 October 2019, 4:00PM

The National University of Samoa Council Chairman, Aeau Chris Hazelman, has announced that the traditional honorifics of Pro Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of N.U.S. will no longer be used.

The decision was passed in a meeting two weeks ago, also covering the Samoan terms 'Fa'aao ole Univesite' for Chairman and 'Tapa'au' for Vice Chancellor.

Aeau said this has been a source of confusion over the years due to the elaborate use of these traditional titles, rather than the normal titles used by any other Ministry.

"In the past, the national university had used many traditional titles in the way that members of the university were announced for example my role as a pro chancellor, the term was used, ‘Fa’aao’, the role of vice chancellor is said to be ‘tapa’au’," he said.

"The council’s deliberations last week has passed that we will return to the normal use of titles as is per usual in government ministries and departments."

He went on to explain, for example, in Samoan, he was the ‘Taitai fono’ or Chairman of the Council, in the position of Vice Chancellor, we no longer use the ‘tapa’au’ but we will use, he is the Vice Chancellor or ‘pule sili’ of the University of Samoa.

"We took this on-board because we understood there have been many complaints from the public, there were many issues that arose over the years and hence we want to make sure we cover these areas in a polite and diplomatic manner in moving forward," he said. 

The decision was announced during a press conference hosted by the university Council last Friday.

The National University of Samoa Council is referred to as the Council that is the governing body and Board of the University, as stipulated in the National University of Samoa Act 2006.



By Soli Wilson 13 October 2019, 4:00PM
Samoa Observer

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