Children of Gospel School for the Deaf in Suva were all smiles yesterday when they received presents during the International Day of Education celebrations.

The gifts were presented by Vodafone Fiji sponsorship manager, Adriu Vakarau.

He said in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic that led to a global learning disruption of unprecedented scale and severity, these children deserved to be happy.

“The closure of schools, universities and other learning institutions, as well as the interruption of many literacy and lifelong learning programmes, has affected the lives of 1.6 billion students in over 190 countries,” he said.

Mr Vakarau said education was a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.

“The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development,” Mr Vakarau said.

“Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.”

He also said Vodafone Fiji fully supported education with affordable tailor made plans specifically designed for all levels of education be it primary, secondary or tertiary.

Edited by Caroline Ratucadra

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