Fathers please be a father to your children – Salacakau

Fathers please be a father to your children and engage with the schools that your children attend.

That is the message from representative of Catholic Education and former Principal, Ben Salacakau while speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan.

Salacakau highlighted the serious lack of full parental support in schools and many parents, especially the fathers, are not even attending the Parents Teachers Interviews, Parents Teachers Association and CAPS meetings.

Salacakau says many are talking about the indiscipline, drugs and disrespect in schools but there is not much talk on all stakeholders including the parents to play an active role in their children’s education.

He says he got into trouble with the Ministry of Education for sending a student home because he had the rule that if a parent does not come to check on their child’s report, the child will have to go back and return to school with their parent.

Salacakau stresses that these systems need to be brought in to ensure that the parents fully commit themselves to their children’s education and welfare.

He says the reports are not just about filling the teachers’ files.

Meanwhile the call is being made by Ben Salacakau and parent, lawyer and representative of Chinese Education Society, Glenis Yee.

Yee says the parents should care for their children’s education because if they do not care, their children will take the lead from them.

They have made an urgent call to the government to seriously look at increasing the free education grants for early childhood, primary and secondary schools, allowing school management committees to charge targeted fees, and allow flexibility to conduct fundraising activities.

They say the budget submission has been made by Catholic Education, Methodist Church Education, Indian Education Society, Gujerat Education Society, Arya Samaj, TISI Sangam, Rishikul Maha Sabha and the Great Council of Chiefs.

Out of the 916 schools in Fiji, only 13 are government schools.

The 13 government schools Delainamasi Government School, Natabua Primary School, Adi Cakobau School, Bucalevu Secondary School, Labasa College, Levuka Public School, Nasinu Secondary School, Natabua High School, Queen Victoria School, Ratu Kadavulevu School, Sila Central High School, Suva Grammar School, and Vunisea Secondary School.

All the rest are community run schools, and they are struggling to cope in providing the best facilities and infrastructure for the students of the country.

Yee says the free education grants are insufficient and for primary schools it equates to less than $1 a day per child.

Salacakau stresses they need the participation of the parents of the students in all schools to assist, and the government needs to look at all these issues.

We have reached out to Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro.

He is expected to appear on fijivillage Straight Talk to address all education related matters this month.