The Koro Island High School rebuild was expected in 2016. A teacher at the school says tents are leaky and hot and they need new ones. Photo: RNZI/Alex Perrottet
The shadow minister of Education in Fiji says the government is not prioritising the children of the country as some are still learning in tents two years after Cyclone Winston.
Mikaele Leawere said schools in Ra and Naitasiri provinces as well as the islands of Koro and Taveuni are still using makeshift facilities after being devastated by the 2016 storm.
He said schools in tents is not conducive to learning.
Mr Leawere said the government needs to prioritise school children above high profile sporting events that are held in the country.
"We spend millions of dollars on the Natadola golf tournament, we bring in Super Rugby teams."
"These are taxpayers' money being used. Why can't we use that money to repair these schools so the children can be comfortable and so that they can learn properly," he said.
The Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at Government House in Auckland Photo: Alex Perrottet / RNZ
The Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said his government was investing in unprecedented high-quality schools so they can withstand cyclones.
He said 95 percent of schools destroyed by Winston were constructed without any building plans and his government isn't making the same short-sighted mistakes.
"There are many factors that have an impact on how soon school buildings will be completed," he said in a speech this week to open the newly-constructed Naweni District School.
"These are the need to plan, design and engineer these school structures to better withstand climatic changes, the adverse weather conditions, the availability of certified construction companies, the availability of building materials during a construction boom, and school management and committees giving timely approvals," he said.
