Suva teacher Urmilla Arya made history when she became the first woman elected to a top position in the Fiji Teachers Union in 1994.
She had completed a course in Introduction to Language and Educational Project, Education and Social Development, Human Development, Educational Administration, Decision-Making and Educational Planning and Development at a teachers’ college.
According to a report in The Fiji Times on Thursday May 12, 1994, her most challenging time in her career was at the Crippled Children’s School in Lautoka.
“It is very different here because I am working with children who have different needs,” Ms Arya said.
She spent more time going over their schoolwork and held multiple classes where she had to teach students of different levels at one time.
“It’s hard at this school where I learnt to work with handicapped children and experienced teaching multiple classes.”
She joined the FTU in 1983. From 1983 to 1989, she served as assistant secretary of the FTU Suva branch. In 1989, she was elected vice-chairperson of the FTU Central Division committee and later became chairperson of the FTU Women’s Wing. At the time, Ms Arya also noted a shift in the union.
“More women are speaking out. They are asking more questions. Women are more confident now and have come a long way.”
For her, the work came back to children.
“The development of children is high on my agenda, that is the reason I became a teacher,” she said.
