Replace with bodyAT the turn of the century, the colonial government of Fiji decreed that only children of European descent, were entitled to formal education.
This policy did not sit well with a lot of people, especially educators who lobbied for equality.
In 1897, a well-known private school in Suva took on the might of the colonial government by setting up a primary school for the marginalised children in our community.
They dared to educate iTaukei and Fijians of Indian descent children.
In 1936 they risked being shut down because they decided to provide secondary education to non-European children against the directives of the MoE.
They defied the MoE believing it’s racist and elitist policies were wrong and needed to be changed. They won.
The MoE was forced to acknowledge its failure and backed down.
From the humble beginnings of this school emerged some of the greatest leaders and captains of industry our country has seen.
Out of adversity came forth progress.
To this day this private school still embraces equality in education, continuing the tradition of educating disadvantaged children.
Today we read about old scholars from certain government schools labelled as “elitist”, seeking dialogue with the MoE on privatising their institutions.
They do so for the purpose of preserving their long-standing standards of excellence which they do not want to compromise.
Isn’t it ironic that the same argument exists today only that the tables have now turned?
