School dropouts worry UN

The United Nation’s (UN) Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, has highlighted the urgent need to address the issue of school dropouts in Fiji.

Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro had earlier revealed that about 4589 students dropped out of the formal education system before completing primary school education, and 5726 left before completing Year 10, between 2019 and 2023.

Dr M’jid said education must be seen as a tool for social advancement.

She argued that continued dropouts, despite investment in education, indicated that something was wrong.

“You cannot be investing in education and having young children continuously dropping out of school. There is something wrong,” Dr M’jid said.

“People need to see that education is a tool for social promotion. If they are not seeing this, then addressing school dropout is not going to work,” Dr M’jid said.

She pointed out that education could be key in tackling Fiji’s growing drug problem.

“This can be a tool to stop the drug problem in Fiji. You can do this if people are seeing that they have a future here.”

Dr M’jid emphasised the importance of understanding the root causes behind the spike in school dropouts.

“You have to assess why there is a spike in school dropouts. Is it because of the quality? Safety? It has to be assessed,” she said.

She called for greater focus on identifying the underlying issues driving the dropout rates.

“Invest in assessing what really is behind the spike in school dropouts. This has to be a priority.”

Dr M’jid concluded by stressing the importance of resourcing and committing to solutions.

“When this is resourced, commit to it and it is important that we become accountable to it.”

Feedback: jone.salusalu@fijisun.com.fj