If God knew that churches, mosques, temples and other places of worship have been closed because of protest by some members, would he be happy?
Of course, if people in power close places of worship, worshippers would do whatever it takes to ensure continuity of their worship.
The decision to close Ratu Kadavulevu School (RKS) for a week by Education Minister Rosy Akbar reminds me of a protest at Mahatma Gandhi Central University in 2018.
Students went on hunger strike and the government took action to ensure health and wellbeing of students and staff members were protected.
The case of the RKS student strike is different.
There is no hunger strike, there is no threat to staff members or fellow students or even the wider school community in the current impasse at RKS.
The principal wants to implement some radical changes.
These changes may reform school culture and certain behaviours which are historically practised at RKS.
The principal’s plan for reform is aimed to improve the educational outcomes of students.
The case also reminds me of the decisions made by former Education Minister Taufa Vakatale during her term as Minister of Education many years ago.
During her time, some schools were damaged because of a cyclone and she ensured that classes resumed with temporary arrangements to ensure continuity.
Minister Vakatale trusted the school leaders, including the principals and vice-principals, school governing committees, and other government agencies that helped with school continuity.
Students have experienced disrupted learning because of COVID-19 with schools being closed for 14 weeks with no technology-enabled learning capacity within the Education Ministry.
Another week of disruption will have impact on the educational achievement of students, many of whom are few months away from national exams.
The Education Minister has again made a wrong decision. Instead of closing the school, she could have done the following:
- ask the principal to take leave for two weeks while the Ministry investigates the issue;
- leave the vice-principal to lead the school and ensure continuity;
- consult the school governing committee and provide assurance to students and staff about continuity of education; and
- make an informed decision, based on facts, in moving forward.
The action taken by the minister raises broader questions about school governance and the systematic review process put in place by the ministry.
Changes related to education delivery and improving educational outcomes of students are clearly under the school principal’s purview, done in consultation with his department heads.
On the other hand, implementation of non-academic reforms always requires discussion with the school governing committee.
Public education is funded by tax payers; therefore a robust and transparent review is important every two to three years.
A good review process involves input from the principal and her/his team, students and governing committee members.
These reviews focus on school resourcing, quality of teaching, staffing, adequacy of learning resources, student performance and engagement, and school governance and management.
If the Ministry had robust review process in place, the issues at RKS would have been picked up to forestall the impasse.
The minister’s decision to close the school for a week undermines the role of the vice-principal, who is the standing principal of the school.
A protest by 10-15 per cent of the student population does not in any way warrant school closure.
The reason for the protest does not in any way put the school’s performance or the health and wellbeing of students and staff members at risk.
Rather, the changes are aimed at improving the educational outcomes of students which requires a compromise between academic rigour and RKS’s established culture.
While a student voice is important, it is critical that the minister’s decision is based on school performance and how the principal’s proposed changes will improve educational outcomes of students.
Do we replace the principal who is trying to improve school performance?
Do we remove the principal, who is Fijian of Indian descendant, from a school that is historically led by an iTaukei principal?
Do we shut down hospitals, police stations, universities and other services just because of protest?
The minister’s decision about RKS will set a precedent for any future student protest at schools and tertiary education institutions.
The ministry needs to self-evaluate how RKS issues have reached this point.
As alluded before, if cyclical reviews were undertaken, these issues would have been identifi ed earlier.
The ministry needs to re-look at the quality assurance arrangement related to school evaluation within the ministry.
Closing the school for a week is just a “band-aid” approach which does not have short and long-term solution.
- Prof Mahsood Shah is the Dean at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. The views expressed in this article are his own and not of the university or this newspaper. Readers can contact Mahsood at shah_mahsood@hotmail.com
