Editorial comment: Encouraging start

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Students of year 10A of Lekutu Secondary School standing in front of their temporary classroom on their first day of the 2021 academic year. Picture: JOVESA NAISUA

It was pleasing to note that when the first school term started yesterday, the turnout was actually quite good.

In fact it would have blown away every gloomy thought, especially coming in the wake of the hardship brought about by Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa and the global COVID-19 pandemic.

It seems the impact of TC Yasa failed to dampen the spirits of students in the cyclone affected areas of Bua and Macuata yesterday.

Parents accompanied their children to school to collect bags and stationery handed out by donors. At Lekutu Secondary School in Bua, the worst damaged school in the wake of the super storm, students filled the nine tents prepared by Australian Defence Force personnel for classroom use.

Parents from outer islands – Yaqaga, Galoa and Tavea – hired boats to the mainland to enrol their children. School manager Ovini Baleinamau admitted the turnout from students was unexpected. In fact the overall student attendance around the country stood at 95 per cent.

Education Minister Rosy Akbar yesterday thanked parents and students for making the beginning of the new academic year a successful one.

“Despite the devastation caused by TC Yasa we had almost full attendance in the Eastern and Northern divisions. We are grateful to the parents for their support and thank them for sending their children to school,” she said.

“We surely have had a great start to the new school year and hope students and parents continue to render their support throughout this academic year.”

This is what it is all about when we place value on education. The numbers are certainly overwhelming. When you reflect on the damage caused by Yasa, and the impact of the pandemic, resilience and a commitment to education easily stood out as a positive factor yesterday.

We are not out of the woods yet. Our challenge as parents and guardians is to continue to maintain focus on setting a strong base for our children. It isn’t going to be easy but it has to be done. Meanwhile, on the global front, it was encouraging to note that new COVID-19 cases in the US have been trending down since hitting a peak last week.

That’s according to a report on CNN last night. Experts, however, said it was too soon to be overly optimistic.

The US recorded 1.5 million new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which was an 11 per cent drop from the previous week. Over the past month, according to CNN, the number of new COVID-19 cases recorded each day ranged from nearly 101,000 to more than 302,000; over the past seven days, new cases averaged about 218,000 daily.

At least 398,879 people have died in the US from COVID-19, and the country passed the 24 million mark in total cases on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The US population sits at 323.2 million according to the United States Census Bureau. On the home front, we are COVID-contained. Our challenge is keep the status quo.

That will demand total commitment from us as a nation. It is tough, but we have proven that we can do it.

We look up to the powers that be to make tough calls for our sake. We also wish our students the very best in school.

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