Education controversy in Fiji

Transcript

A new education policy in Fiji will see more boarding places at urban schools offered to students from remote and rural areas.

The Education Minister, Mahendra Reddy, announced the policy earlier this week, and drew an immediate backlash from the opposition and the presidents of the alumni associations of the schools.

Now, the Prime Minister has weighed into the debate to condemn the use of racial politics, as Alex Perrottet reports.

Dr Reddy says there were children from distant islands sleeping rough outside boarding facilities when classes began in January.  Inside the boarding rooms were students whose homes were not that far away.  He says there was no need to consult on such a simple and common sense alteration of policy.

DR MAHENDRA REDDY: You don't really need consultation with regard to saying, your child, we'll give you the best school or a better school closer to your home, and here are children who are deprived of quality education and might drop out. We want to give them space in a boarding facility. What is there to consult?

The opposition leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa, said the move was aimed at weakening indigenous institutions, but her main concern was the lack of consultation.  The Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, blasted Ro Teimumu's comments, saying she is using race to divide the nation.

FRANK BAINIMARAMA: Astonishing ignorance and confirmed her unfitness for high office. They are inflammatory, divisive, and a threat to national unity. A threat to national unity in that they cast a government decision that is designed to be fair to all Fijians as a threat to the position of the iTaukei where none whatsoever exists.

Ro Teimumu says there are already plenty of places for rural students. 

RO TEIMUMU KEPA: The majority of students that are there are from these very same areas and these would be the rural, the remote and the maritime areas. And if you were to visit those schools you will find that at least 50 percent if not more are from these areas.

But the minister disagrees. He says Queen Victoria School is 74 percent urban students, Adi Cakobau is 61 percent urban, and Ratu Kadavulevu school is 55 percent urban.  And he says the Government's zoning policy means those close to rural schools still have to attend them.  But the President of Adi Cakobau School's old girls association, Adi Litia Qionibaravi, says it's more complicated than that. She says the schools were set up to encourage and train iTaukei students.

ADI LITIA QIONIBARAVI: We would like Adi Cakobau to retain the original reasons for its establishment, which is to train future excellent indigenous women leaders.

But Mr Reddy says he can't understand how the policy affects indigenous students as the majority that come from rural areas will be iTaukei.  The presidents of the old boys associations of the other two schools say they were not consulted and this has given rise to their suspicions that the policy move is racially motivated.  Dr Reddy says the move is simply to allow for distant rural students with no other options to have a bed to sleep on.