Schools run by religious organisations will be allowed to include faith-based teachers in their institutions, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Speaking at a talanoa session at Yaroi Village in Savusavu on Vanua Levu this week, he said school management would be allowed to have religion classes in school.
“This is very important because we need to teach our children about our faith,” Mr Rabuka said.
“Schools run by religious groups can send in chaplains, pastors or priests to teach students about their faith.
“If these schools want their students to know about their faith, then they can do so.”
Mr Rabuka said the issue was important because of the sheer number of reports of children misbehaving.
He also told villagers that Government would review children’s rights in relation to how they were being disciplined.
“Children’s rights are paramount and is part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which nations around the world including Fiji signed up to.
“But it doesn’t mean that we totally do away with disciplining a child and it’s up to each nation on how to go about developing and implementing policies in terms of disciplining children.
“So we will look into this and ensure that our children are taught to respect teachers, their parents and everyone in society.”
