Looking back today, as Fiji continues to grapple with a deep-rooted preference for white-collar education, a quiet but progressive shift that took place in the North in 1996 stands out as ahead of its time.
On May 6, 1996, The Fiji Times reported that the Montfort Technical Institute in Savusavu was breaking tradition by accepting female students, a first for an institution long regarded as an all-boys school.
The move also meant school leavers in the North no longer had to travel to Viti Levu to pursue technical courses offered by the Fiji Institute of Technology.
Though not officially opened at the time, the institute had already enrolled 24 students.
Blessed by the late Archbishop Petero Mataca on March 9, it was run by two Christian Brothers from Kerala, India, under the Brothers of Saint Gabriel, the same brotherhood behind Montfort Boys Town near Suva.
“It will be called the Montfort Technical Institute because we will have girls in the school,” assistant principal Brother Varghese Kallely said, responding to criticism that the brotherhood did not cater for females.
Two girls enrolled ahead of schedule, studying cabinetmaking alongside boys taking agricultural technology.
The students planted thousands of pine, dalo and yaqona plants, established animal husbandry units and experimented with fishponds, biogas and sustainable farming — concepts that were ahead of their time.
Brother Varghese believed motivated youth, given opportunity and skills, could transform communities.
Nearly three decades on, that vision feels more relevant than ever.
