For more than three decades Satya Prakashan has been a fixture in Rakiraki’s educational landscape, a journey that began in 1990 at Rakiraki Methodist School.
Mr Prakashan serves as the head of Wairuku Primary School, located just two kilometres from town, where he continues to teach Year 5 class in addition to his administrative duties.
Mr Prakashan’s career has seen him teach at several schools in the district, including Ellington Primary, Penang Sangam Primary and Barotu.
“I started teaching in 1990, I’ve been teaching in Rakiraki since then,” he said.
“So, I taught in Rakiraki Methodist, I taught in Ellington Primary, Penang Sangam Primary, Barotu and now I’m in Wairuku Primary.
“My leadership style is to lead by example. I want to show how things should be done.”
Over the years, Mr Prakashan has witnessed significant changes in the education system. He notes that the biggest challenges he faces today are related to student discipline.
“The values are degrading.”
“The biggest challenge we face now is the disciplinary issue of children.”
Mr Prakashan also highlighted the increase in administrative work and the need for digital literacy.
“When we started there was very little paperwork, now we have to do a lot of documentation and a lot of paperwork is involved, and then before digital things were not there. Now we have to update ourselves, become digital literate so that we are on par with all other teachers.”
Despite the challenges, Mr Prakashan’s passion for teaching remains strong, fueled by a deep affection for his students.
“It’s love for the children that has kept me going. I think of all the children as my own children.
“The most memorable moment for me as a teacher was when our school scored a 100 percent pass, and we got the highest mark in the district, that was one of the memorable moments.
“We got that two times and then we also had 100 percent results.”
For those considering a career in education, Mr Prakashan offers a simple, but crucial, piece of advice.
“My words of advice to anyone who might want to take up teaching as a profession is you need to be very patient.
“You need to have that quality of patience in you or teaching is not the profession for you.”
