A new twist to the startling revelation of the low standard of education in Fiji as shared on Wednesday during the National Education Summit in Nadi.

The Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga, said children as young as 12 years old were used as drug mules.

They are used by relatives who are drug pushers to sell drugs in schools, Mr Turaga said.

“The relatives reward them with gifts from the sales that they make and I am sure teachers are aware of this,” Mr Turaga said.

His revelation adds more salt to the Permanent Secretary for Education, Selina Kuruleca’s speech on the drop in education standard in Fiji, which included poor examination pass results, poor numeracy and literacy standards and children’s general attitude.

Mr Turaga said learning should start at home. He emphasised the important role parents played in safeguarding their children from exploitation.

“For Fiji alone, there were 7000 images for exploitation of children,” he said.

He said this was revealed by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the U.S Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) during a training sponsored by the U.S Embassy Suva.

Mr Turaga related a story of a U.S. national and former preacher who worked in Fiji, who pleaded guilty to child sex crimes stemming from incidents in Fiji.

“The phone is a powerful tool. It is important to discern people who claimed to be missionaries and preachers and coming to homes with different intentions and motives,” he said.

“He used his phones to take images of young children, partially naked. His location in Fiji has been disclosed now.

“Today, the U.S. Department conducted another two workshops with the Fiji Police Force. We will sign a memorandum. When you take the ratio of our population, it is high. We have been asked not to address this with the children but to address with their parents.”

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