Content Summary
Helen Tavola identified three (3) areas as fundamental to the development of Ministry of Education Ministry in Fiji. Namely the Policy variables, political context and government’s Grant-in-school fee subsidy. The three areas formed the basis of her research work.
She carried out the fieldwork in 11 schools in different geographic areas in Fiji and among wide ethnic composition. One of the social issues that stood out was the disparity in ethnicity and population of children in schools in the colonial eras and before and after Fiji’s independence in 1970. However, it is ominous that Helen’s attempts to address the three (3) issues hinges on the racial divide among the different ethnic groups and their social and economic standings in Fiji societies.
Identifiably, the Native Fijians concentrated more on subsistence and rural agriculture in the early part of developments in of the Education Ministry in Fiji.
In retrospect, the other ethnicities view education as a way to liberate themselves and encouraged their children to actively seek further education. This resulted in the disparity in the level of education and qualification. The Native Fijians are generally less educated than the other Fiji ethnicities.
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