Singh’s passion in teaching motivates her to grow
Devina Singh is passionate about teaching and knows the importance of being creative and simplifying complex concepts, so students enjoy learning and become creative thinkers.
So to be on par with the current education methodologies, improve her skill set and strengthen her subject specialisation knowledge, Mrs Singh opted to enroll at Fiji National University (FNU) to further her studies.
The thirty-one-year-old enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary-English/Hindi – In-service) programme offered through FNU’s College of Humanities and Education (CHE) at Natabua Campus, Lautoka. According to Mrs Singh, the programme has assisted her in learning new knowledge and skills to face challenges and reformation in the education sphere.
After teaching for a decade with a Diploma in Education, she decided to upgrade her qualifications through FNU. “This programme (Bachelor of Education
Secondary – In-service) is excellent for teachers like me who need to upgrade their qualifications,” she said.
“It offers us an opportunity to strengthen our subject specialisation knowledge.
“I am confident that upskilling my teacher qualifications will enable me to learn new teaching methodologies which I can use in my daily teaching.
“I specifically chose to study English and Hindi majors because I always had a keen interest in both subjects.
“I encourage students to take up this programme because there is various importance in learning English and Hindi.
She said teaching created job opportunities such as becoming a language teacher, working for newspaper and television companies by becoming a journalist.
“This would yield a lot of income as there is a high demand for English and Hindi in these fields.
Mrs Singh also said not only job opportunities, but the Hindi language also provided an identity for Hindus, which each one of us should be proud of.”
She said having experience in teaching was a plus for her before returning to tertiary study to earn her Bachelor of Education.
“My transferrable skills from my previous teaching experiences have been honed, making my transition to University studies much smoother than I ever have anticipated.
“As a mature student, I was enthusiastic about returning to study.
“The staff at FNU are very approachable, and in my learning journey, they have supported me academically and emotionally as well.”
She added the educational landscape had changed considerably as a result of the impending health crisis.
“We as teachers need to prepare ourselves for the ever-changing education landscape to improve outcomes for our students,” Mrs Singh said.
“Also, the demand for quality education has increased; teachers must improve their lesson presentation to be on par with what is expected.”