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The Education Ministry is today challenging all principals to lead by example and put their phones down to engage and interact in schools.
Speaking at the Fiji Principals Association conference, Permanent Secretary of Education, Selina Kuruleca says teachers are not just preparing students for exams but shaping their character and resilience for life’s challenges.
She is questioning whether to start the day with prayers or mindlessly scrolling through her phones and wasting much valuable time and thinking capacity on things that make them sad, angry, emotional, and imbalanced.
Kuruleca says it’s time to rethink the use of gadgets, urging principals to talk to their staff and students and model good phone etiquette and manners.
She is issuing a challenge to teachers to put their phones and gadgets down and participate in the day’s deliberations, commit and be committed and learn from each other.
The Education Ministry has also challenged school leaders to make positive changes, such as encouraging the consumption of water and beverages like “Bu,” or coconut water.
Kuruleca emphasized the pivotal role of school canteens in promoting good nutrition, urging adherence to the Canteen School Guidelines.
In her address, she applauded the initiative to rename the athletics finals as the Fiji Finals, promoting a healthier mindset.
Kuruleca says the importance of nurturing intellectual health in schools and the need to go beyond textbook learning and focus on teaching values that shape students’ character and resilience for life’s challenges.
