New Muaira College opens
MUAIRA Red Crescent Methodist College is Fiji's newest secondary school. Opened by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama earlier this month, the school has a roll of about 200 students from Year 9 to Year 10. Mr Bainimarama said seeing students back in school was a proud moment for him and his government. "From the very first day our schools had to close due to our health restrictions, we made it our mission to return you to your classrooms. Seeing you back in school could not make me prouder," he said. "Fiji simply wasn't Fiji without our schools open and filled with students who are busy with the business of learning.
"The education of Fijians of all ages in all parts of the country has always been my Government's greatest priority. “The pandemic reminded us why the only way that Fiji and the entire world have been able to fight back against COVID and regain our freedom, is due to the knowledge, ideas and inventions of educated people.
"Without education we wouldn't have the scientists who developed life-saving vaccines, or the knowledge of how to get those vaccines to every single Fijian. Without education we wouldn't have the doctors and nurses who worked around the clock to keep thousands of Fijians alive.
“Without education we wouldn't have the thousands of skilled Fijian teachers, who mobilised to try and keep students on track, so they wouldn't lose their hard-won academic progress. Without education we wouldn't have the pilots, flight attendants, and airport and hotel staff that keep Fiji's tourism sector afloat.
“Without education we wouldn't have the thousands of people who work within Government and who help me make decisions every day concerning our health, security, food, economy, education, agriculture, environment, housing, roads and so much more."
The new school was funded by the Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates to a tune of $2.1 million.