RAJEND Singh Somas says he still remembers being a fresh faced 27-year-old intern in the year 2000 nervously navigating his new teaching career.
Now at 50 years old, the head of Vunimono Arya Primary School believes those initial hardships were his stepping stones.
“After graduation I was posted to Moturiki District School in Lomaiviti. I spent three years there and it was an enjoyable stay,” he said.
“From there I moved to my village school in Muaniweni, Shantiniketan Pathshala then I got transferred to Naqali District School for one and a half year, then back to Shantiniketan and that’s where I took up the acting head teacher’s post in 2014.”
Mr Somas said he enjoyed teaching in remote areas and maritime islands, but the days on end without his wife and daughter were among the challenges he faced while based in the islands.
When asked about the challenges of teaching in rural areas, Mr Somas said natural disasters such as floods often hindered school attendance.
“Otherwise, it’s quite challenging and very interesting to teach in rural schools and one good thing in teaching in rural and maritime (areas) parents are more supportive.”
While reflecting on his extensive teaching experience, Mr Somas said he was transferred to Muaniweni Primary School as an acting head teacher in 2015 before being promoted to a teaching post at Tuatua Nasau Primary School on Koro Island.
“From Koro Island I came back to my village school Shantiniketan and from there I got promoted again to Suva Gospel for Deaf as an assistant head teacher with a five-year post, then I came to Vuci Methodist School as an assistant head teacher.”
Mr Somas later transferred to Korocirciri Primary School in 2019, where he took up the post of acting head teacher
“I spent two years there, but in 2021 I got promoted as a medium school head teacher and spent two years at Ramakrishna Saraswati Primary School in Tailevu before I came to my current school, this is my third year at Vunimono Arya School.”
Mr Somas said his most memorable teaching experience was when parents at his first teaching post requested that he conduct private classes with their children.
“I used to take the morning class, evening class and even Saturday classes and parents were very supportive.
“It really touched my heart when the parents came to me and asked, can you keep the children at your quarters, I agreed and about five, six, sometimes seven children stayed with me just to pass class and that still touches me.”
Mr Somas smiled happily as he stated that some his former students still remember him years later and often approach him in public
“Whenever I meet these children, they have grown up and I can’t recognise them, but they recognise me. They say sir, you taught me at Moturiki, then I remember.”
The 26 years of teaching was no easy journey, but the support of his daughter and wife helped motivate him to carry on.
“When I was promoted to Koro Island, I was a bit hesitant to go and my wife said, ‘no, we will go with you. We also want to experience island life’, and they really supported me, and I went.
“Also, when I was doing my degree, I really lost hope and my wife said, ‘no, you do it’. So, I managed to complete my degree and then my post-grad.
“My daughter said, ‘dad, I’m going to do my (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) MBBS what about you complete your post-grad’. So she motivated me and I completed my post-grad and now, she’s insisting that I complete my masters. She said, ‘before I graduate with my MBBS, you’ll graduate with your masters’.”
Mr Somas also had a few nuggets of wisdom he wished to share with youths opting to pursue a teaching career.
“Do not teach just to earn money, they must have a passion to teach because you must think of the children. If it’s a primary school, they must take a bit of science subject in secondary school so they don’t have a problem in teaching Year Seven and Eight science now.
“They must take vernacular with them, so Vosa Vaka Viti, Urdu or Hindi so that it helps in teaching of vernacular language in primary school.”