Less than 50 per cent of schools in Fiji have not been complying with COVID-safe protocols.

This was revealed by the Permanent Secretary for Education Anjeela Jokhan yesterday. She said the assessment was done last week during mock trials.

Schools identified have been given clear instructions to comply before the start of face-to-face lessons for Early Childhood Education to Year 7 on January 10, 2022.

Students will resume classes in line with the re-aligned curriculum set by the Ministry.

Uniforms

School uniforms are not compulsory and students can attend classes and outings if they don’t have proper uniforms.

However, students are expected to attend school in appropriate school uniforms when the new school year starts in April, 2022.

COVID Cases

While announcing the new school date, Minister for Education Premila Kumar said they have so far recorded nine COVID positive cases in schools, eight of whom have recovered.

“Today there is just one active COVID case in schools. It’s a clear indication that although we had 9 COVID cases the heads of schools and the teachers were very well prepared to handle the situation and there was no major outbreak in schools to close the schools,” Ms Kumar said.

As cases were detected, the students were isolated and treated in line with the Ministry’s strategy.

She commended the Ministry of Health staff for their prompt response to positive cases in schools.

Home Schooling

Meanwhile, she reiterated that parents and guardians who are not comfortable with sending their children to school need to put their children on home schooling or make arrangements with teachers for learning materials.

Exam Dates

Exam dates for Year 13 will be held from February 1-11, 2022 with results expected to be released on March 17, 2022.

Year 12 exams will take place from February 7-17, 2022 and results are expected to be released on April 6, 2022.

Bus Cards

The Ministry is arranging for eTransport cards to be ready for top up.

Parents and guardians are advised to keep checking the Ministry and Government’s Facebook pages for updates on when they can redeem the cards.

Edited by Selita Rabuku