People’s Alliance Leader Sitiveni Rabuka says he has been requested by several parents whose children are boarders at Queen Victoria School, Ratu Kadavulevu School and Adi Cakobau School to appeal to the Government to delay the re-opening of schools because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Rabuka says the parents have told him that they cannot afford to have their children travel and then sent back home as a safety measure.
He says that he deeply appreciates these parents’ concerns for their children and their financial struggles to ensure a good education for them.
Rabuka says he is aware that WHO and UNICEF support the re-opening of schools in Fiji, and have provided advice to the Ministry of Education on safety measures it can implement to ensure students learn in a safe and healthy environment.
He is hoping that these measures are properly adapted to the local realities of the schools, otherwise their effectiveness will be in doubt and may negatively impact on the students and their learning environment.
Rabuka further says if there is an outbreak or surge of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in Fiji, as it is doing elsewhere in the world, then the Ministry of Education may have to conduct targeted school closures to control the spread of the variant and protect the students and teachers.
Meanwhile, Rabuka is calling on the government to be on high alert, and plan ahead, particularly in light of limited health resources to ensure it can respond swiftly, if the Delta surge strengthens and the Omicron variant intensifies the crisis.
The former Prime Minister adds children are our future and most valuable resource and everyone must work together to ensure that they are safe and can access quality education during this pandemic.
