17 years and counting
ANITA Chand still remembers the trips she used to make travelling from Ba to Suva, watching the lush cane fields fade away and skyscrapers spring up along her journey is also a reflection on the way her life has unfolded.
For a small-town girl leaving behind life in the idyllic, picturesque “soccer crazy” town to pursue further studies in the big city, the ride was nothing short of daunting. Yet, her dad stood beside her every step of the way.
This support enabled her to get started in her teaching career over 17 years ago, and today, she is known by another moniker, as the occasionally “grumpy” Mrs Chand.
“My senior students like me a lot because they know my nature, but junior students are very quiet, they think I’m very grumpy but I’m not like that,” she said with a laugh.
Yet, even as there are certain misconceptions, Mrs Chand takes it all in stride. The main thing that mattered was her students and their future.
The mother-of-two has weathered her own storms to get to where she was today and hoped to inspire her students to reach for their goals.
“My father was the biggest inspiration,” she said.
“He always had trust in me that I as his daughter will always put his name up, he used to tell my mum, I still remember, not to let me do any of the household tasks since I had to study.
“I was the lucky one out of all my five siblings, and I completed my education at DAV Primary and then at DAV College in Ba. Later, I moved to Suva at University of the South Pacific (USP) where I completed my Bachelor in Education majoring in Literature and Languages in 2005.
“Later, I joined Khalsa College in Ba and that’s where I started my teaching career. When I was transferred to Suva in 2012, I started with my post grad, I completed my post grad in Education and later did my Masters in Education in Leadership.
“I teach at Vunimono High School at the moment, part of Languages department. It is my 17 years of teaching English as one of the subjects and I love it.”
Her father, who was a Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) mill worker at Rarawai Mill, would accompany her every time she travelled to Suva.
“Whenever I used to come to Suva, my dad was the one who brought me and at that time, I was not aware as to what was happening around me so he was the one taking me to USP in the bus.
“I still remember those days, carrying an umbrella and a backpack, we were from Ba so coming to the city was a new experience.
“He used to wait for me in Southern Cross, wait for me to finish my lecture and then accompany me back home so I will never forget those days.”
Mrs Chand said teaching remained a fundamental part of her life and was something she took great pride in. She was recognised for her hard work for achieving high pass rates in both the Year 12 and 13 external exams.
“One of the highlights of my teaching career has been meeting these lovely kids and looking forward to what new techniques I will use to teach them every day.
“The most exciting moment is when the external exam results come out. I, as a teacher, I come first to collect the results. When the results came out this year, I was in Ba so I went around calling each and every one of my students asking for their marks and later on when I calculated the result, I was so happy I achieved my 100 per cent pass rate.
“It’s a very inspirational thing when our kids pass. We get the biggest happiness. I think before them, we get the happiness.”
Mrs Chand said the focus now turned to the 2023 academic year, and she was focused on working with her students to pass in their exams.
My senior students like me a lot because they know my nature, but junior students are very quiet, they think I’m very grumpy but I’m not like that
– Anita Chand