People encouraged to study for free

Those with some spare time on their hands who are interested in upskilling have until July 24 to enrol at the University of the South Pacific.

The University of the South Pacific’s Cook Islands campus now has four new free courses available for people wanting to study during the current economic downturn due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Fees Free initiative is part of phase two of the Government’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Plan to further support the upskilling of the nation’s workforce in an effort to target the skills shortage.

Cook Islands Maori I is one of the courses on offer.

This course builds on students’ existing knowledge and skills in Cook Islands Māori, and develops their awareness of the phonological, orthographic, lexical and morphosyntactic elements of the language.

Students will develop an understanding of the historical and social context in which Cook Islands Māori is spoken, the different varieties of Māori spoken across the Cook Islands and the extent to which the language has changed over time.

Through the use of archival and online research, students will survey the tools and resources that currently exist in the language, and will learn to create contemporary materials using print-based and digital technologies.

University director Dr Debi Futter-Puati said it was important to emphasise that the te reo Maori course is a linguistics paper and not a beginners course and will be taught predominantly in Cook Islands Maori.

“People do need to have some language to be able to take part. Tutorials will be face to face starting first week of August through to December.”

The University of the South Pacific is also offering, pending applications received, another three Fees Free courses on top of their normal semester two courses.

They are:

- Certificate in Small Business Development and Management (four courses)

- Certificate in Business Administration (six courses)

- Certificate IV in Human Resources (six courses)

Enrolment closes on July 24. Make contact via Facebook Messenger, by email or phone or by dropping into the USP office.