Faith-based schools
Tukai Lagonilakeba, Namaka, Nadi
Let us face it, not all students who attend Catholic, Methodist, Muslim and Hindu faith-based schools around the country belong to that faith. Look around you and you will notice that the PTA’s in these institutions are a mixture of Fijians with different religious backgrounds.
The schools management is not in a position to enforce their religious activities on any student who does belong to the faith.
And so should the appointments of its teachers.
But why do they have to specifically request that it should apply to their school principals only when other teachers in the school belongs to different faiths where I personally feel that is a double standard.
It should be all about service delivery with the best teachers who can do the job in safeguarding the welfare of the students which is the priority.
I believe those schools should now start contemplating turning their faith-based properties to run privately like the Nadi and Suva International Schools and there is nothing absolutely wrong with it.
They employ and run their schools with a very special fee and do not rely on any handouts or assistance from our Ministry of Education.
They run it as a business where they attract many highly qualified Fijian teachers from different religious backgrounds but are neutral schools.
I personally feel Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of the Catholic faith including the President of the Methodist Church in Fiji Reverend Epineri Vakadewavosa, should now immediately stop accepting the millions worth of three School Terms Grants to all their primary and secondary schools throughout the country. They should then turn them into privately run-owned institutions and that would be the solution gentlemen. It is called putting your money where your mouth is.
They can pick and choose teachers from their preference of colour, race, and religion, they can pay them accordingly where it will solve the issue full stop and very simply put that’s is called “Putting your Money and Belief where your Mouth is”.
I guess the SODELPA gang will take note of this issue and will make it a political football come our 2022 national elections very similar to their promise of no contracts for all civil servants including teachers and municipal elections during the 2018 election campaign.