School teacher Eroni Matatia was a happy man when one of his students told him on New Year’s Day that he had scored 300 out of 400 marks in his external exams.
Mr Matatia remembers feeling overwhelmed with joy. He turned to his wife and said hearing the news made him feel like he had won $20,000.
Having been in the teaching field for over 26 years, Mr Matatia said every day was a new opportunity to nurture and assist children under his guidance.
Originally from Namuka district in the province of Macuata, Mr Matatia started his teaching career in 1996 at Lekutu Secondary School in Bua.
“Since then I joined advanced studies in 1999 to complete my diploma then after that I joined the University of the South Pacific in 2008 and 2009 to work towards my degree.
He taught in Vanua Levu for a while before she was posted to Suva Grammar, Yat Sen and then Vunimono High School.
He was one of the teachers awarded recently during VHS awards night. This was in recognition of his role for ensuring a 100 per cent pass in Year 13 batch for 2022 in Applied Technology.
“I’m really happy with my achievement and thank the school for recognizing our work.”
For Mr Matatia, getting recognised and appreciated was the fruit of the hard labour he had endured over the past two decades. Then, there was no member of his family who had been a teacher, especially in his area of specialty.
“I take students after school and help them work on their skills to pass on knowledge to them.
“I’m really happy that some of my students have continued with carpentry and building.”
The father-of-three said he was always happy to see his students excel in life. And just like any profession, Mr Matatia said he planned to continue to work on new teaching strategies.
“This is so that I am able to produce good results, especially in training my students to become something after they finish school.”
