DEVINA’S LOVE FOR TEACHING
10-year experience in the classroom
EVERY Fijian remembers that one teacher who made going to school fun. The one teacher who made complex concepts understandable and somehow managed to make even the most disinterested student pass their exams.
Devina Singh hopes to be like those teachers who are long-remembered by students even after uniforms have outgrown them and schoolyard memories become the subject of conversations around the tanoa or a cup of coffee.
The 31-year-old has been teaching for about 10 years and is passionate about education and inspiring young Fijians to get excited about the subjects they are learning.
She said she knows the importance of being creative and how important it is to simplify complex concepts so students enjoy learning and become creative thinkers.
After a decade of teaching, Ms Singh said she decided to upgrade her qualifications so she has enrolled at the Fiji National University to undergo the Bachelor of Education (Secondary-English/Hindi–In-service) program.
Ms Singh said the program would assist to broaden her knowledge and skills and to face challenges and reformation in the education sphere.
“I am confident that upskilling my teacher qualifications will enable me to learn new teaching methodologies which I can use in my classes,” said Ms Singh.
“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 program because there is a lot of importance in learning English and Hindi.
“It creates job opportunities such as becoming a language teacher, working for a newspaper or television company by becoming a journalist. This course will present one with a lot of opportunities as there is a high demand for English and Hindi in these fields.
“Not only job opportunities, but the Hindi language also provides an identity for Hindus, which each one of us should be proud of.”
Ms Singh said the educational landscape has changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
“We as teachers need to prepare ourselves for the everchanging education landscape to improve outcomes for our students. Also, the demand for quality education has increased. Teachers must improve their lesson presentations to be on par with what is expected.”
I am confident that upskilling my teacher qualifications will enable me to learn new teaching methodologies which I can use in my classes – Devina Singh –