More than 300 students of two maritime schools in the North are still studying in tents after their classrooms were severely devastated by a cyclone more than three years ago.
Dreketi District School in Qamea was destroyed by a landslide in 2016, while Yadua Village School was impacted by Cyclone Yasa in 2020.
Education Ministry permanent secretary Selina Kuruleca said they face challenges trying to rebuild the schools.
“There have been issues with the procurement of materials, trying to get tenders on time and the whole government process that exists,” she said.
Ms Kuruleca said they were trying to determine the best way possible to transport the materials to the two islands.
“Our teams have started the scoping work,” she said.
Ms Kuruleca said some funders had mentioned they want to fund materials to rebuild the two schools.
“We want to rebuild these two schools as soon as possible,” she added.
Ms Kuruleca said there were provisions in the budget for the 2024 to 2025 financial year to rebuild the schools.
