Praneeta Prakash 
File photo [Source: Ministry of Education / Facebook]
Educational leaders have been urged to prioritize the reintegration of moral and religious values as the core principle for transforming Fiji’s education system.
University of the South Pacific Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Jito Vanualailai says Fiji’s schools were originally built by churches and other religious groups who taught good values.
While other school improvements are important, Professor Vanualailai believes a strong moral base will help students develop better character and purpose.
“If you do not, if we do not, champion the moral, the ethical, and the spiritual ground we are maturing, we will leave schools without character. We will graduate students from our institutions without purpose. And we will produce a workforce without integrity at all.”
Professor Vanualailai says removing religion from education in recent years has led to a decline in morality.
“Increased youth crime increased HIV/ AIDS rising drug abuse, ice, the visible moral decline in our society as leaders and as principals at the threshold of leadership, I ask you this is this future we want to shape?”
He urged principals to find common values across all religions to guide students.
Professor Vanualailai stressed that this approach is not about simply returning to the past but about learning from it and carrying forward the best traditions while stepping boldly into the future.
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