Ban on tobacco, alcohol and kava!

Drugs in school

THE Education Minister Premila Kumar on students caught with drug and substance apparatus (FT 2/6) reveals how important it is to address this issue urgently. She also explains that this problem is professionally handled by trained teachers and school counsellors with psychosocial support by the Ministry of Education.

While teachers do their work, the community and parents are equally responsible. They work in partnership to discipline children. Charity begins at home.

Say no to drug with drug free school zone. TAHIR ALI

Hamilton, New Zealand

Better than 97% of universities?

VISHEN Lakhiani is a Malaysian entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker, of Indian descent. He is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley and the author of two bestsellers: The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass.

And he has made a bold and daring statement – “Give me five years, and I believe Mindvalley will be able to provide a better education than 97 per cent of the world’s universities”. In fact, he has already built parts of this new type of education in the form of Mindvalley University.

And why is he so convinced that he can pull this off? Well, let’s just look at the word ‘education’ for a moment. It can mean different things to different people. For some (like me), it can mean enlightenment. For others, it can mean indoctrination.

Vishen believes that the state of our education system today is more aligned with the latter. Because it’s a system that often keeps us shackled by the rules of generations past, which suppresses us from our potential for greatness.

But it’s the other definition – enlightenment – that he is obsessed about. It can mean teaching us to live in the world with wonder. To be curious. To question. And to make life a journey of learning so that we can live our lives as our best possible selves.

It’s this definition of education that he is bringing to Mindvalley University. And to understand how he is doing this, ponder on this quote by Steve Jobs on how he created game-changing products: “Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields the results that makes our hearts sing”.

The same philosophy applies for education. You combine all aspects of creativity — from tech to art to soul — to rebuild education from the ground-up.

This is the approach he has taken. And the result is a new type of school that’s more compassionate, holistic, connected, experiential, and deeply transformative. Perhaps our Ministry of Education should take a look at it since its mission is “to provide a holistic, innovative, responsive, inclusive and empowering education system that enables all children to realise and appreciate their inheritance and potential contributing to peaceful and sustainable Fiji”.

Like George Orwell, Vishen maybe too far ahead of his time. I feel blessed to be a member of Mindvalley and absolutely love its amazing and life-changing programs. ARVIND MANI

Nadi

Racist statement

I FIND Simon Hazelman’s contribution to this column (FT 03/06) racist.

When highlighting the tabu ni Vanua o Vuda on tobacco, alcohol and kava, Mr Hazelman was relating the matter to noncommunicable diseases which I believe he himself is a victim of.

Furthermore, while sharing his experiences, being a kidney patient, he stated and I quote “The one thing I notice is the huge number of iTaukei, both young, middle aged and elderly, admitted with NCDs”.

I believe such a statement is racist, because I frequently visit the diabetic centre in Suva and I must say there are more Fijians of Indian descent than iTaukei attending clinics.

Please Mr Hazelman, I know you are always against kava but please do not make an issue of race.

KOSITATINO TIKOMAIBOLATAGANE Vuninokonoko Rd, Navua

I SALUTE regular writer Simon Hazelman

I WAS reading the book about the Royal New Zealand Air Force operations at Laucala Bay, Nausori and Nadi from 1939 to 1967. From the tension in the Pacific during the second world war, the establishment and development of the flying boat station at Laucala Bay and the airfields at Nausori and Nadi.

The New Zealand, the American, the British and the Fijian government and the local Fijian labour all worked together and the outcome is what we have witnessed.

Nadi was chosen as a ground landing strip in preference to Nausori, the Western side had significantly less rain and better visibility, and Laucala

Bay was the best location for a flying boat base. As the saying goes, the rest is history during their years of operations.

The kingdom of Tonga and the Gilbert and Ellice Island (now Kiribati and Tuvalu) were also manned by the RNZAF. Their search and rescue operations in Fiji and around the Pacific saved many lives. The photos of the old Suva, Nausori, Nadi and other places were so nice to see.

There were post-war romance, married life, tragedies, social, adventures, recreation and many more activities during their years of operations in Fiji. This was one of the most popular postings the RNZAF ever offered.

I can still recall in the ’60s, the air force barge boat usually take us to Nukulau Island for our scout camping and return during