ON August 7, 1993, under the headline “Vuo parents storm school gate”, The Fiji Times reported that parents of protesting students at Vuo
Bhartiya School in Labasa forced open the school gate to allow their children in for classes.
The article reported the school manager Subrail Gounder had promised to close the school on Monday in protest.
“The forced entry added a new twist to a two-month dispute over the use of a Hindu religious symbol, the Om, on the school’s monogram,” the The Fiji Times reported.
“Protesting parents, Muslims and Christians alike, claimed the symbol, a Hindu symbol for God, contravened their religious beliefs.
“The school management, backed by the Ministry of Education, said the monogram was compulsory.
“Parents obtained a court order ensuring that their children, 33 of them, attend classes at Vuo.
‘They were only allowed into school on Tuesday, only to be barred the following day.
“Management posted security guards at the gate, and let in only three protesting students.
“They said the court order only mentioned the trio, not the rest.”
The Fiji Times reported that parents obtained another order to cover the remaining 30 students, which was handed down on Thursday.
“Yesterday, 30 parents with their children arrived at the school, about 10 kilometres north of Labasa, to see the gate closed and manned by security guards.
“At about 8.30am when the bell sounded for classes to start, the parents and students began to move to the gate.
“The guards were served with the court orders and asked to open the gate but they refused.”
The Fiji Times reported an argument broke out between the guards and parents, and some parents climbed over the 2-metre high fence. Others forced the gate open for the children who entered; three girls were seen crying.
“The only police presence was a special branch officer in civilian clothing.
“Mr Gounder said that he had written to the acting permanent secretary for Education, Amraiya Naidu, informing him of his intention to close the school on Monday.
“However, Mr Naidu said that authority to close the school was for the permanent secretary to make, and I haven’t given that authority to Mr
Gounder.”
