School Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Students, teachers, school management and the nearby community celebrated the Saqani High School golden jubilee anniversary earlier this week.
They were privileged to have the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, visit the school with his government delegation to commission the newly constructed hostel dinning hall/evacuation center. School principal, Isireli Koroituku, said previous cyclones and the fire that destroyed their old dinning hall/evacuation center in 2018, were challenging times for the school.
Mr Koroituku, 54, who took the head of school position in 2019, described the resilient spirit that the community and school overcame.
As part of the fire rehabilitation fund, the Government assisted with an allocation of $695,000 for the project.
The hall was able to accommodate people from Lakeba, Saqani and Vuniwai Villages during cyclones and other natural disasters.
He described Mr Rabuka’s visit to commission ‘a proud moment’ engraved in the school’s memory lane.
He did not shy away from thanking the previous Government for allocating funds for this development.
The school has a student roll of 130.
Mr Rabuka congratulated the school committee and community for achieving an important milestone in their school’s educational history.
Special appreciation was accorded to the school committee and teachers for withstanding the test of hardships to ensure children were equipped with education.
The school tucked away in the picturesque mountains of Saqani District faced challenges with modern school learning resources.
Mr Koroituku emphasised intermittent internet connectivity remains a daily concern for students learning.
He hoped this concern would one day be addressed and students enjoyed competent connectivity.
School head boy, Natoni Sadrugu, said the remoteness of the school was a driving factor that all students pursued to gain education.
And would one day aid in the development of the school and district.
Cadet training is now part of the Saqani High School educational curriculum. Cadet training was revived at the school this year after a lapse of 18 years (2005).