Despite a significant drop in Government revenue, free education will continue.

The assurance came from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, when he opened the new $150,000 building for Suvavou Kindergarten, Lami.

While there is a reduction in the Education vote in the Budget, Mr Bainimarama has pledged his support that free education will not go away.

That’s a relief to parents who may be thinking that the Government will slash free education because of the reduction in allocation.

He believes that investments in education are the best investments we can make.

He admits that Government revenues have taken a big hit because COVID-19 has paralysed the tourism industry.

“Regardless, our funding towards free eduction has continued, meaning no family in Fiji will have to pay school fees,’ he says.

“And I can tell you, my ministers and I would fork out our entire salaries – on top of the pay cuts we have already taken – before we ever saw free education go away.”

Like civil servants, teachers’ salaries have not been cut so they can focus on the education of students.

Government is pressing ahead with the construction of new schools and upgrading of other school buildings.

While it may be contrary to what some people feel about Government’s focus at this time in the crisis, it highlights the importance of education in the Government development plans.

All that is left is for families to seize the opportunities and ensure that their children are in the right learning environment.

It is very easy to get distracted in a crisis and the onus is on them to maintain the focus.

The school disruption caused by COVID-19 is likely to cause a setback. If we keep our eye on our goals, we can climb back and gain lost ground.

It’s going to be family-driven. It’s no use having these new facilities if it fails to motivate us to do better.

Take Bau Central College for example. Three years ago it was an empty piece of land.

One year after it opened three of its students built an amazing model of a renewable energy system which won them first prize in a national scholastic competition.

Mr Bainimarama uses it as an example of what can be achieved when students can use their imagination in the right learning atmosphere irrespective of which schools they attend.

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